For those of you who still want to enter our Sweetheart Sweepstakes, time is ticking by rather quickly. Deadline for entries is next Wednesday at noon. See pages 4 and 5 for details.
Having an excuse to go from business to business in order to enter as often as possible can be a grand experience. What a great opportunity to visit new places or have the chance to rediscover old favorites. While you are out and about, don’t forget to shop for your valentine. With the big day falling this year on a Saturday, late shoppers won’t have the time to run out on the weekend to find the perfect gift for his or her sweetie— it will be too late. Believe me, you don’t want to be the guy or gal who comes up empty-handed when your significant other graciously presents you with a thoughtful gift, especially on the most romantic day of the year. Your only way out of a gift-less situation is to try to turn the tables and portray yourself as the victim as you try to convince the disappointed gift-less giftee that American poet May Sarton was accurate when she said, “There is only one real deprivation… and that is not to be able to give one’s gifts to those one loves most.”
Good luck with that.
Anyway, there are great bargains and unique gifts right here in our own neighborhoods and some pretty terrific restaurants too. This year I think we did a fabulous job gathering donations from our local shopkeepers and restaurants. What a gracious group of folks. It is because of their generosity that we are able to offer 20 prize packages for our 2015 Sweetheart Sweepstakes.
After two decades of featuring the Sweetheart Sweepstakes, I find that getting a commitment from all the prize sponsors isn’t nearly as tricky as putting the packages together. My process for grouping the packages this time was as follows: Like most years, I first made an extensive handwritten list of the donations. I then wrote each prize on a Post-It note before I attempted the great list compilation. This go-round I used an oversized breadboard on top of my coffee table as flat surface for the great prize assembly. I first made sure that I had an equal number of items for each string of prizes, trying always to include dining and entertainment for each package. I then made long rows of Post-It notes for each grouping. After a lot of shifting things around, I took a deep sigh and declared the package gathering/assembly project a success. Do keep in mind that all during the process I am attempting to deeply concentrate, all the while trying to keep our cats from tearing up my precious Post-It-note sculpture of sorts.
When arriving at the office the next morning, I bragged to our staff that the Sweetheart Sweepstakes packages are ready to be finalized. Breaking out in laughter, two of my co-workers informed me that we just received promises of more prizes! Do I cry, sulk or complain? Nope, I just head back to the bread board and regroup. What you see on page 4 is the ultimate final version. Remember— you can’t win if you don’t enter. Prize winners will be announced next week!
