Campbell man wins Vindicator Oscar contest

The Vindicator

Robert Beck, a retired gas-station operator from Campbell, is the winner of The Vindicator’s Oscar contest.

Beck correctly picked 18 of the 20 categories. The only ones he missed were Adapted Screenplay (he picked Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for “Up In the Air”; the winner was Geoffrey Fletcher for “Precious”) and Sound Mixing (he picked “Avatar”; the winner was “The Hurt Locker”).

Becker ran the Amoco service station at Wilson Avenue and Coitsville Road in Campbell for more than 30 years.

He has entered The Vindicator’s Oscar contest for several years now and said he won third place in it a few years ago.

Becker admitted that he hasn’t seen all of the nominated movies. “I got information from radio, TV and the newspapers and had my own personal choices,” he said.

As the grand-prize winner, Becker will receive $100 gift certificates from the following places: Julia’s Bed and Breakfast, Hubbard; Reyers, Sharon, Pa.; The Crumb Shoppe, Hubbard; Full Circle Florist, Youngstown; and The Winner, Sharon, Pa.

Two of the 188 entrants correctly picked 17 categories: Charlie McQuillan of Youngstown’s West Side, and Marilyn King of Newton Falls. In accordance with contest rules, The Vindicator randomly chose McQuillan as the second-place winner and King as third-place.

McQuillan will receive a $100 gift certificate to Julia’s Bed and Breakfast and $50 gift certificates to Full Circle, Reyers, The Crumb Shoppe and The Winner. King will receive $50 gift certificates to Full Circle, Reyers, The Crumb Shoppe and The Winner.