CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Clarksville woman is set to compete on an episode of “Wheel of Fortune” next week, and she’s hoping her performance will show her two young daughters they can do anything they set their minds to.
Marquita Johnson, 43, said she remembers watching “Wheel of Fortune” with her grandmother when she was a young girl, and now she watches every evening with her parents and two daughters around dinner time.
“We always try to beat the contestants that are on the show by answering the puzzles. Majority of the time, I would get all of them right, and so my daughters, Envi and Samiya, would say, ‘Mommy, you should go on the show,’ and I was like ‘No, I probably wouldn’t get picked,'” Johnson told Clarksville Now.
Clarksville native
Johnson’s parents were born and raised in Clarksville. Her father is retired U.S. Army, and after many years of traveling, her family returned and settled in Clarksville in 1993. Johnson’s two daughters, 12-year-old Envi and 8-year-old Samiya, attend school in Clarksville-Montgomery County.
She currently works as an area coach for MRCO, a Nashville-based franchisee of Taco Bell.
Johnson decided to throw caution to the wind a few months ago and apply to be a contestant. A little over a month after applying, Johnson received an email inviting her to a virtual interview.
She thought she had bombed it.
“Less than a week after (the interview), they told me I was chosen, and I couldn’t believe it. I was super excited,” Johnson said.
Johnson and her boyfriend, Daniel, flew to California to record the episode. She had never been to California, and she made sure to fit in some sight-seeing, visiting Beverly Hills and the Santa Monica Pier.
Dream come true
She said her experience on the show was everything she dreamed it would be.
“Being out there, it was a dream come true just to be able to see Pat (Sajak) and Vanna (White), and the set and everything and the studio. It was so much fun,” Johnson said.
“I recommend anybody that could try out to try out for it. Just to go out there and experience it,” Johnson said, adding that she hopes her journey demonstrates to her daughters that they can do anything.
Johnson will be playing during “Disney Secret Santa” week, where contestants will be spinning the wheel and solving puzzles for magical prizes including Disney vacations. And the next week of shows coincides with this year’s “Secret Santa Holiday Giveaway,” so whatever Johnson wins on the show, a lucky Wheel Watchers Club member at home can win too.
Johnson’s episode airs Monday, Dec. 13, on WKRN-News Channel 2 at 6:30 p.m.