On a gentle, more uplifting note, Valentine’s Day is about two weeks away, and, as our long-time loyal readers know, this is the time of year the Signal Tribune staff goes bonkers getting ready for our annual Sweetheart Sweepstakes.
Proving that our hard work has been rewarded, this year we have received enough amazing Cupid-inspired donations to allow us to put together 19 prize packages.
With love in our hearts, and in the air, we look forward to giving away all these lovey-dovey prizes.
For those who are not familiar with this promotion, I will fill you in: Our readers cut out entry coupons that appear in the centerfold of the Signal Tribune paper’s issues for Feb. 3 and 10. With those coupons in hand, participating readers take them to any or all of the 19 participating advertisers to enter the drawings for our awesome prize packages. Each advertiser will have an entry box for folks to use.
This year’s prizes are overly generous, and we are grateful to the many local business owners who have offered to share in this promotion.
As I said, this year’s promotion will run today and next Friday. The last chance to enter will be Tuesday, Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day) at noon. At that time, several of our energetic staff members will drive around and pick up all the entry boxes. Once we have them in our hot little hands, we will take them to the office, count the entries, thoroughly mix them up, draw the winners and then contact those lucky folks by telephone. The winners’ names will appear in our Feb. 17 issue.
Our purpose for sponsoring the Sweetheart Sweepstakes is to encourage our readers to patronize local places of business. By cutting out the coupons and depositing them into the “specially marked boxes or pink buckets” at participating businesses, it gives you a chance to visit those advertisers and familiarize yourselves with their goods or services. Our goal is to give our readers a fun reason to visit some local shops and/or restaurants they may have never patronized before.
For those of you who plan to participate, please don’t just run in and toss your entry into the various boxes. Do take the time to look around and shop or dine at the establishment that so graciously helped sponsor the sweepstakes.
Keep in mind there are rules: you cannot enter by mail, fax or email, and you cannot drop your entry through the mail slot, or it will be thrown away. You must go inside the business and drop your entry blank into the specially marked box or pink bucket.
Also, you may only enter once a day at each business. Do remember to put the right coupon into the right box, or you’ll be disqualified. Also, after more than 20 years of running this marketing promotion, I can tell if those who enter have just dropped in several entries at one. Come on— play by the rules. Make it fun and fair for everyone.
A big “thank you” goes out to all the folks who so generously donated for our contest. We appreciate your participation. Many of you have donated prizes for more than 20 years.
So, my dear readers, with a total of 19 prize packages this year, the odds are in your favor. So, do yourself a favor and enter.
If you don’t enter, you can’t win. Good luck!
Note: To my husband Steve, staff of the Signal Tribune and participating businesses— no, for the umpteenth time. You cannot enter, so stop asking! And don’t think you can fool me with a phony name and cell phone number. After all, I am smarter than I look. Really, I am.
