(Complete story as I turned it in to West Newsmagazine for publication! All TV show images were taken by the Wheel of Fortune crew, the one of Murray Weidenbaum with President Reagan is from cyclowiki.org, while the officer one is from the city of Ballwin,)
Making an appearance on an uber popular TV
game show in the bright lights of Hollywood is a stark contrast from serving primarily
behind the scenes in the field of law enforcement.
But that’s precisely what 30-year-old Ballwin
Police Officer Rachael Stark experienced in her spins for prize money on The
Wheel of Fortune!
Stark met a few challenges during the show
itself, but it was a much greater struggle just to get there.
“I’ve been applying for three years straight!”
Stark said. “Each year, they open up an application. I’ll put in my information,
and they’ll schedule like a ZOOM meeting with me. Finally, near the end of
August, I got an email saying, basically, ‘Hop on a plane. Here’s your taping
date.’ I was like ‘Whoa!’ The date was going to be on a Thursday, and I had (Missouri
National Guard) Army duty on Saturday. So, my husband (Sean) and I flew out to
L.A. on a Wednesday (Sept. 3), taped Thursday (Sept. 4), came home Friday, and I
went straight to Army duty Saturday. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it was
a whirlwind trip because it was not on my Bingo card!”
Once on the air, Stark’s excitement was at a
fever pitch. But she was slowed by countless bad luck spins onto the Bankrupt
spot.
“It’s
wild how quickly the game can turn. One spin can completely change the
direction of the game. Even with some setbacks, I was genuinely excited for my
fellow contestants when things went their way. The energy backstage was so
positive, and we all got along so well. Honestly, even if I had walked away
with no winnings, the experience itself would still have been the most valuable
prize.
That said, Stark later fought that off by solving
the ‘What are you wearing?’ question with the answer, ‘karate black belt.’ For
the final puzzle under the category of ‘Never have I ever,’ Stark won again by
solving the puzzle’s answer, ‘pulled a prank.’ Her total winnings were $8,000,
leaving her short of making the bonus round.
Stark said that knowing her husband was in the
audience cheering her on helped immensely. His support made the entire
experience even more special.
She added that just being there felt like a
win, and no matter the dollar amount, the experience itself was priceless. After
all, she has always had a great passion for game shows.
“I love Wheel of Fortune and I love game
shows like Press Your Luck and The Price is Right. I love testing my knowledge
and seeing how much I know. I’ll be watching Jeopardy and trying to guess it
faster than the person on the screen…which never happens. But I have always
been fascinated with entertainment. I think it’s so cool. I watch reality TV
and think, ‘Oh my gosh! They’re so popular!
That’s so cool!’ I’m fascinated with Hollywood and all that. So, to
actually be a part of what’s going to be on TV is awesome!
“Ryan
(Seacrest) and Vanna (White) were incredibly kind and gracious. They could tell
we were nervous and made an effort to put us at ease, which meant so much.
Maggie Sajak was also there, and it felt surreal being in the same room with
people I’ve watched on television.”
A major challenge for Stark was knowing that her
episode would not even be aired until February 18! She forced herself to honor an agreement not
to divulge any details of her showing until the end of the 5 ½-month wait
between it being filmed and having it air.
Stark said quietly going back to normal life and
keeping that long-term secret may have been tougher than trying to solve the
puzzles.
“Finally
getting to share it with friends and family has honestly been just as exciting
as being on stage. It made the whole experience feel real all over again. This
experience also showed me how much I genuinely enjoy being on camera.”
Stark
added that she and Sean had a few other goals for the roughly 40-hour whirlwind
visit. They succeeded in eating scrumptious tacos, loved walking along the
Santa Monica Pier, and spending time dipping their toes into the ocean. She
also got an incredible smoothie from Erewhon. Her only tongue-in-cheek disappointment
was not running into the Jonas Brothers.
Then, it
was return to work time at various settings.
Now that
the airing has been completed, including on HULU, Stark’s work duties are once
again magnified.
Those
include volunteering her time as a Ballwin Reserve Officer. Duties include
providing security at the Ballwin Municipal Courts twice a month plus community
events like Ballwin Days, Halloween patrols, and a variety of 5K and other runs.
Full-time
work for the St. Louis County Police Department takes up most of Stark’s time.
Her current role is serving as a civilian analyst in their Bureau of Research
and Analysis. She’s also a Captain of the Missouri National Guard.
Stark had
previous stints as a Police Officer for the Creve Coeur Police Department
and as a Reserve Police Officer for the Maryland Heights Police Department. She
also graduated from the Police Academy during the Covid years.
But Stark was very young when she her initial
experience led to the decision that law enforcement would be her lifetime
career.
“Growing up in my Olivette neighborhood, we
had a police officer (Rick Knox) who would always stop by our house. One of my
earliest memories was just him getting to know the neighborhood, getting to
know my family. As time went on, he
stayed with our community police department then went on to be Chief of Police
and was one of my biggest role models in law enforcement. I was really inspired
by the work that he did for my community and me growing up, and I was like, ‘I
want to be like him when I grow up!’”
In addition, Stark’s family has had a long
history of military and other governmental service.
“I’m extremely proud of my dad’s (Victor) military
service. I’ve always looked up to him. So, I’ve had that role model in my life
growing up. That was a very big motivation to get into community focused work and to serve my
nation. When I went to Mizzou, I joined Army ROTC. I did that for four years
and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. I’ve been in the Missouri National
Guard ever since, and now I’m a Captain.”
Stark spends one weekend a month with them
and is a Medical Services Officer with a lot of administrative duties,
leadership, and overseeing the big picture.
“I manage soldiers and it’s very rewarding. I
absolutely love it! I completely see why my dad loved the military.”
Meanwhile, Rachael’s mother, Laurie
Weidenbaum, along with siblings Susan and Jim, graduated from Parkway North and
had a very famous father. Murray Weidenbaum served as United States Assistant
Secretary to the Treasury and President Ronald Reagan’s economic advisor.
Rachael herself was a full-time patrol
officer in Creve Coeur. She said she absolutely loved Creve Coeur, growing up
so close to there in extreme western Olivette.
“There were a lot of people there I was
familiar with, the community loved us, and it was a very rewarding part of my
career. While I was there, I met my husband who is now a police officer elsewhere
(St. Clair County, Illinois). The schedules were really hard on us, so I went
to the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office to be a Death Investigator
after that.”
Stark also joined the Ballwin PD in March of
2023.
“I missed actual police work, but I knew I
didn’t want to do it in a full-time capacity just because I never saw my
husband. But I couldn’t completely get out of it. I was acquaintances with
Lieutenant (Robert) Wetzel. I contacted him and asked if they needed any
reserve officers. They put me through the process. I work court and also
special events for the department about 20 hours a month. They are so welcoming
and such a wonderful group of people. I love my other reserve officers, and we
make such a good team.”
Starks’ been with St. Louis County PD,
writing policy for 2 ½ years. She works there Monday-Thursday 6 am-4 pm. She
somehow finds time to play pickleball twice a week.
As an only child, Stark mentioned, “My
parents have been so supportive in every career decision I’ve made and I could
not have done this without their support. So, is my husband as a fellow law
enforcement officer and is also totally supportive of what I do.”
And the accolades also poured in for Stark herself!
“She’s a very motivated person; that’s for
sure,” noted Ballwin Public Information Officer Shannon Jones. “She’s always very busy, active
in the community and very close to her family.”
“Rachael is a great part of our team,” added Ballwin
Police Chief John Bergfeld. “She is courteous and always professional. She has
a great work ethic and always willing to help out with a project or an
event. Rachael has a great future ahead of her.”
Stark’s statement about her own
attitude toward police work was also profoundly evident throughout Stark’s
Wheel of Fortune experience!
“I understand there is police work where you
can’t be smiling all the time, but I like community engagement and going to the
events; working 5Ks, shaking hands with people, and that’s what I love about
police work,” Stark added. “This brings out the best aspects of my personality
because I’m a happy, bubbly person!”
