(NewsNation) — A whopping $1.02 billion, yes “billion” with a “b,” is the current figure some lucky winner would score if they were to win the Mega Millions jackpot this week.

It would be a life-changing amount of money, enough to change multiple lifetimes, in fact, and no one knows that better than Iowan Brian Lohse, who won a Mega Millions jackpot worth more than $200 million in 2012.

“Shock, for sure,” Lohse said of the moment he won. “And almost, kind of a dread. We hadn’t had a lot of money, then all of the sudden we have all this and the weight of it was, obviously, very exciting, but at the same time, all of the sudden our life has changed.”

Figuring how to manage that kind of money was a chore in itself, one Lohse said was “daunting.” But he and his wife knew they wanted to give the money back to their community however they could, and that’s what they did.

The Lohses used their winnings to build a much-needed grocery store in their town, paid off a church mortgage and built a new high school football field. These were all no-brainer decisions for the family.

“Our town and our community, they’ve always been a part of our lives,” Lohse said. “We always felt good about our kids walking to school because we knew our community had their eyes on our kids for their safety. These were things the community needed.”

Every year the Lohses sit down with their children once a year and choose where to give away money out of their foundation to charity.

“To be able to do that once a year and be surrounded with our kids, and seeing where their hearts are going and where they want to be generous and charitable, that’s one of the best things we do,” Lohse said.

As far as what advice Lohse would give to whoever, if anyone, strikes the jackpot, he kept things simple.

“Surround yourself with friends you’ve always had, because they’re the ones that knew you before and will always have your back,” Lohse said. “Also, good legal representation that you trust, good financial representation that you trust.”