MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – When two thousand people tell their life story to win one big prize, you know the winner is going to be special.

Minnesota-based Snap Fitness decided to give away a franchise worth $250,000, and they said they couldn’t be more confident they found the most deserving recipient.

Snap Fitness Founder and CEO Peter Taunton said he knew immediately after hearing Charlice Noble-Jones’ story that he was going to give her a Snap Fitness.

Noble-Jones works as a teacher at a school in Albany, Ga., where she was surprised with the prize.

But she wasn’t just picked for being a teacher. Noble-Jones is also a 9/11 survivor.

“People were falling around me as they were running, being hit with debris,” she said.

To make matters worse: One month before Sept. 11, 2001, Noble-Jones learned her husband had pancreatic cancer. The diagnosis put a hold on their life plans.

“To not be able to dream and set goals in life … who wants to live a life like that?” she asked.

It was in her husband’s final hours that Noble-Jones found the will to dream.

“He said, promise me that you will move on with your life, promise me that you will start to plan and dream; and promise me that you and Preston will be happy,” Noble-Jones said.

Four years after her husband’s death, Noble-Jones now has the blue prints for a future. Her dream is to open the first Snap Fitness in South Africa.