Give them victory. Cumberland County school principals are spinning the “Wheel of Fortune.”

Earlier this year, two Cumberland County school principals put their spelling and reading skills to the test in an upcoming episode of “Wheel of Fortune.”

Rachel Andress, principal of William H. Owen and Amanda Hefner, principal of Margaret Willis Elementary School, will appear on an Oct. 8 episode airing locally on ABC11 WTVD.

Andress, who has worked in Cumberland County Schools for 19 years and is in her second year as principal, told The Fayetteville Observer on Thursday that she grew up watching “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” with her sister.

“I don’t even remember the time, date or year, but I assume I was bored one day and signed up when I saw a sponsored link on Facebook,” Andress said.

Andress said that in November she received an email from an RS producer – which she initially thought was spam – inviting her to audition for the show with a Zoom link.

Despite her fears, she changed clothes and clicked on the link where other participants also auditioned virtually.

A phone call to a friend?

Andress said she was sent to another round of auditions and didn’t hear back until April.

Producers congratulated her and told her to choose her best friend for the audition, she said.

“So I immediately called my friend Amanda, who was the first-year principal at the time,” Andress said.

Hefner, also a 19-year Cumberland County Schools veteran, said Andress called her and said she had been selected for a “best friends forever” themed episode of “Wheel of Fortune” and needed someone to question her.

“I said, ‘Why not?’” Hefner said. “I didn’t watch the show as much as she did, but as soon as we found out we were potentially going to be on it, I started watching it every night.”

Andress and Hefner said there were several more rounds of auditions, and Hefner gave a separate interview because producers interviewed Andress after she had signed up for the show.

Andress said that on the Wednesday before Mother’s Day, they received an email informing them that they were potential contestants and inviting them to fly to California on June 6 for an episode of “Girls Outings.”

“Then we called our bosses and they told us to move on,” Andress said. “We organized the most beautiful trip in our lives. The experience itself was amazing. My husband also agreed. We went to California and lived our best lives visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and then a few days later we went to Vegas.”

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What was it like to be on the show?

Andress and Hefner couldn’t say much about the show’s outcome until it aired, but they agreed that the pace of taping was fast.

“It’s much easier to watch and solve the puzzles at home than in a live recording studio,” Andress said. “You don’t have much time to think and you’re constantly looking at Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White and the puzzlers and other participants.”

She said that all this time she had to remember which letters had already been called.

“It can be overwhelming and you always have to be ready with answers,” she said.

Hefner agreed.

“It’s an all-day process. You get your hair and makeup done and they film several episodes a day, so you’re also in the audience watching others during their episode,” she said. “When you watch at home you think people are making stupid mistakes, but in real life it’s 22 minutes and it’s very fast. I understand why people make mistakes. But it was fun. I realized that the wheel was much smaller than I expected, but it was still very heavy.”

Hefner stated that she overall enjoyed the experience and was glad she was able to share it with Andress.

“It was relaxing, especially at the end of the school year, so it was a nice way to end the year with a break,” she said. “Besides, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. How many people can say they rode the Wheel of Fortune with their best friend and also made the entire trip that way?”

Upcoming viewing party

Andress and Hefner plan a viewing party for anyone who wants to support them at Bubba 33, 500 Westwood Shopping Center on the night the episode airs.

“During the episode, we were able to highlight our specific schools, so we are excited about the school and community support,” Andress said.

Hefner said the event will be a fundraiser for both her and the Andress schools, and Bubba will donate a portion of its profits to those schools.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at [email protected] or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County school principals to appear on ‘Wheel of Fortune’