WINAMAC, Ind. — Five sisters recently got a chance of a lifetime on a hit game show, an opportunity with added meaning in the wake of personal tragedy.

Laura Cosgray, Tammy Huskins, Debbie Bosak, Connie Ingram and Karen Scheffer appear on an episode of “Family Feud” set to air Monday. The quintet — all with the maiden name of Hopkins — decided to audition for the show after Tammy lost a son in the military. Cosgray said trying out for a game show was a “bucket list” item that the sisters had talked about for years, and it seemed a natural thing to do for Huskins to keep her spirits lifted.

The sisters overcame long odds to make it on the show. During auditions, producers told the women that only about one in a thousand people who apply make the cut.

In order to audition, the five sisters first had to create a video showcasing why they would be a good fit on the show.

The day after they submitted the video on YouTube, an associate producer with the show emailed them asking if they could travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to audition at the city’s convention center — along with thousands of other applicants.

During the two-day event, the Hopkins sisters played a mock round of “Family Feud” against another family. Cosgray said their audition was on Sunday, so on Saturday, they scoped out the venue to see how to prepare.

Because of that — and their instinct for creativity — the sisters each took a photo of themselves in front of a large photo of Steve Harvey, the show’s host, and put those photos on shirts. Then they wore the shirts during the Sunday audition.

Show producers pulled the sisters out of the crowd, Cosgray said, and took pictures of them with their T-shirts.

“They said, ‘We’ve never seen Steve Harvey shirts. How’d you guys do that?’” Cosgray recalled. “And we’re like, ‘We’re creative.'”

Following their audition, Cosgray said the sisters were about to leave the convention center, but Ingram suddenly disappeared.

“She comes running and in her hand was a white envelope and a business card, and it said: ‘Go to the registration table where you registered when you first came in. Do not open this envelope and do not tell anyone you have it,” Cosgray said.

Following the directions, the sisters ended going back to the convention center hall and then to another room, waiting anxiously with a few other families for something to happen.

“And by golly, if it wasn’t the executive producer of the show,” Cosgray said.

The producer told them she liked their charisma and enthusiasm and conducted short interviews which each of them, before saying she had to review the information with all of the other producers before making a decision.

After a few months without hearing from the producers, the sisters received word in April through an email and a postcard that they were selected as a finalist for the show.

However, it took one more round of auditions in front of all of the producers to guarantee a spot on “Family Feud.”

“At this point, we’re like, what difference does it make?” Cosgray said. “We’re having so much fun.”

The producers were impressed with the sisters and decided to put them on the show that day. The episode was filmed last July in Atlanta.

Even though they can’t say much about the show specifics or if they won the grand prize or not, Cosgray said they thoroughly enjoyed the time.

“We did some pretty funny stuff,” Cosgray said. “We just had the time of our lives. It’s just been an absolute blast.”

The experience was not only special for the sisters collectively, Cosgray said, but especially for Tammy.

“We took something so sad, and we turned it around, and we had so much laughter and so much fun. And we’re still having fun,” Cosgray said. “It’s helped her heal. It’s just what she needed.”

The Logansport (Indiana) Pharos-Tribune contributed to this story.