SNEWS® 2006 Survivor, Outdoor Retail writing contest winners announced

Posted: 08/07/2006 In Category(s): News & Features :: Outdoor Headlines, Community :: Contests

Through July 1, retail sales staff answered the contest call to submit a story of survival and perseverance in the face of challenging customers. Twenty-nine finalists had their stories submitted to the contest judges, whose votes determined the top ten.

Our judges included representatives from each of our ten sponsoring companies, as well as celebrity judge Jon Dorn, executive editor for Backpacker magazine. Judges received the stories stripped of store and author identification. Stories were judged and awarded points in two category areas: writing ability (good story line, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and organization were key) and story telling ability (how well the story grabbed the judge's imagination, inspiring them to laugh, smile, cry). Forty points were possible from each judge – 20 from each category. The points were totaled and the ten stories with the most points earned the win.

Writers of each of the winning story entries will be contacted directly by our contest sponsors and will receive prizes from each – total value of the prizes being received by each winning story entry exceeds $1,000.  

While the judging was tight and the judges commented that all the stories they received were entertaining to read, there can be only ten that win. The top ten stories (in no particular order) in the 2006 Survivor, Outdoor Retail SNEWS® writing contest are:

Lear Jet Guy
Bob Aldrich, Midwest Mountaineering – Minneapolis, MN

Up the Creek With Too Many Paddles
Gil Hines, Blue Ridge Mountain Sports – Charlottesville, VA

Shoe Sale Psychology
John Reuter, The Elephant's Perch – Ketchum, ID

I Need Some Shoes
Jay Curwen – Black Dome Mountain Sports – Asheville, NC

I Should Have Known
Phil Leeds, Skinny Skis – Jackson, WY

A Positive Spirit for Sales
Bryn Meyer, Rutabaga - Madison, WI

Nun On The Run
Seth Lindenfelser, Midwest Mountaineering - Minneapolis, MN

Guide To Surviving Customers
Neil Techawongtham, Northern Mountain Supply – Eureka, CA

Loafers On Denali
Aaron Buckalew, Skinny Skis – Jackson, WY

Two Scouts vs. My Bladder
Daniel Dore, Great Outdoor Provision Company, Durham, NC

Congratulations to our winners!

Of these 10, one will be named the grand prizewinner during Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2006, cashing in on a trip for two to Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2007. Three others will be named official "honorable mentions," and in addition to the valuable prizes, each will receive a gift certificate that can be redeemed toward attendance at an Outdoor Industry Association-sponsored event, such as Outdoor University, Mountain Sports Festival or the OIA Rendezvous.

The grand prize winner and the three runner up winners were determined based on popular vote (sorry judges) -- those among the top ten receiving the most votes (from themselves, friends, family, co-workers, their dog, their cat, their priest) won, it was that simple. Between July 10 and July 31, over 15,000 votes were cast – indicating that either the contestants had an enormous number of friends, or perhaps some sales folks were spending entirely too much time online. Either way, we were stunned at the response.

Did you miss out on this year's contest? Bummer, but no worries. If you haven't already done so, outdoor retail staff can get ready for next year by activating a subscription now at www.snewsnet.com/freeretail/snewsarticle-contest.html. Then, watch your SNEWS® for announcements calling for our next contest entries and get ready to be a winner.

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