After winning a Dunkin' Donuts contest, Tufts employee Edna Gilreath will have her coffee and donuts specially delivered to her office by Boston Bruins star Joe Thornton.

Somerville, Mass. [02.07.02] -- This won't be a typical day at the office for Tufts' Edna Gilreath. The service center manager in Tufts' Human Resources department will get a special visit this afternoon by Boston Bruins star center Joe Thornton, who will be armed with a care package of coffee and donuts.

   "He shoots, he scores, he delivers coffee and donuts," reported The Boston Globe, describing Thornton's visit to Tufts. "Gilreath was one of the winners of Dunkin' Donuts' 'Peel and Win' contest last fall, and that's her 'Dream Prize,' of which there are 50."

   But Gilreath, who has worked at Tufts for the last three years, almost missed her big prize.

   "I was in a meeting and someone noticed I hadn't pulled off the sticker on my coffee cup," Gilreath said. "She said to me, 'don't throw out your cup, you should look at what you won. ' I pulled the sticker off and it said 'Dream Prize -- A Box of Joe delivered by Joe.' To be honest, I had no idea who he was!"

   Since winning the prize in October, Gilreath -- who drinks two large coffees every morning -- had plenty of time to find out about Thornton.

   "I am very excited along with the rest of the HR Service Center," she said. "Many in my group are great fans of Joe."

   The contest, which took place throughout the month of October, was a first for New England.

   "Randolph-based Dunkin' Donuts ... lined up stars from what it claims are the region's top six sports teams," reported the Globe. "The stars [were] part of a month-long marketing blitz in October to cement Dunkin' Donuts images as a 'regular-guy brand.'"

   Among the Boston sports starts who signed up to be "prizes" for local contest winners: Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, the Boston Breaker's Kristine Lilly and the Celtics' Paul Pierce.

   "There's been nothing like this [done before]," Dunkin Donuts vice president Ken Kimmel told the Globe.

   Tufts' Gilreath would surely agree.

   After all, how often is the boost from an afternoon coffee break caused by the famous guy delivering the coffee, not the caffeine itself?

Images courtesy of the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated.