How far should a sweeper go to win a prize? For some sweepers, it doesn’t take much to redden their cheeks. For these few, just putting entries in a drop box becomes an espionage mission. Heaven forbid someone should actually see them! Yet others will boldly walk in, fill out several forms and plop them in the box without a care. Of course, it is not always the sweeper who is embarrassed. I remember walking out of a fast food restaurant with my teenage daughter and just before we got to our car I saw it. A cup…WITH THE GAME PIECES STILL ATTACHED! I looked at my daughter, who had also seen the cup and was shaking her head as she said, “DON’T YOU DARE!” Needless to say, I bit the dust on Mother’s Day that year. SIGH!
Another mortifying situation occurred when I put a handful of entries in the drop box on a customer service desk. That particular desk was being manned by an overzealous teenager who was watching me out of the corner of his eye. I had turned and taken two steps when he shouted, “You can’t do that, that’s cheating. I’m taking all of your entries out of the box.” I couldn’t stand being called a cheater, not to mention the thought of my entries being trashed. I turned back and said, “I want to speak to the manager”. When he arrived, I had a hard time being heard over the accusations of cheating being shouted again. As the boy quieted down, the manager informed me that I could only put one entry in the box. I then asked the manager to read the rules and pointed to the sentence that said “ENTER AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE”. I did receive an apology and learned never to put entries in a box when a teenager is present!
I have been witness to sweepers battling with bathroom plungers attached to their heads, watched adults peddle tricycles through an obstacle course and saw sweepers stand for hours with their tongue on a pole. All for the ever elusive PRIZE! I even allowed my youngest daughter to compete for the title of Silliest Kid in Dallas. She bounced up on stage with her boom box and props. Spread a plastic sheet and emptied a box of Trix on it. Sitting down, she proceeded to coat her arms, legs and face with Crisco shortening. She started the music for the song “Grease” as she laid down full length and rolled from one end of the plastic to the other coating herself in multi-colored cereal. The next thing I knew, she was dancing fast and furiously with Trix cereal flying everywhere. Yes, its official, my daughter is the SILLIEST KID IN DALLAS!
Now, some of you are probably thinking, what kind of mother is she? To make her little girl do all of that in front of an audience no less! That poor child planned the whole thing herself with a sister’s help and wouldn’t let Mom in on half the fun! She had a blast, especially when it came to spending the $500 shopping spree that was part of her prize. But just so you’ll know that I have put myself on the line, let me tell you about the “Jeep Stick in the Mud” contest. When my name was selected to be a participant, my husband didn’t think I would do it. Okay…so he was probably right, but a dare goes a long way with me. Besides they were giving away a brand new Jeep and one of the 100 finalists was going to win it. So I showed up early at the event location wearing the lovely brown t-shirt they sent me, a pair of shorts and sandals. When my turn came to get in the mud pit along with 14 other contestants, I shed the shoes and put on my goggles. There were big sticks scattered all through the mud and each one had a different point value. The object was to find as many sticks as you could in the amount of time given. Sounds easy…right? Wrong! That mud was thick and very hard to move through, plus a short person, like me, had to immerse themselves to the shoulder to reach those sticks. They were very slippery and I ended up using the bottom half of my shirt to hold the ones I gathered. The two people with the most points would move on to the next round and the rest of us would head for the showers. I had managed to find two 100 point sticks which put me on top, but others were still being counted. I held my breath as I waited for the final count…I was third in my group. DARN! I was actually hoping to do it again! So I didn’t win the Jeep, but I am told that my skin had a beautiful glow afterward! *
Luckily there are others in this hobby that are willing to be good sports and participate in some of the fun and unique challenges sponsors come up with. One of my favorite stories comes from Fran Perry in Florida. Several years ago she was listening to the car radio on her way home from work when she heard about a promotion. Whatever prize was being offered, it was good enough to make her take a detour and give it a shot. Still dressed nicely in her work clothes, Fran climbed the ladder and slid into a swimming pool full of whipped cream. She did not win the contest, but this picture is a prize in itself. **
So what about you? What were you willing to do to win a prize? Post your stories here or on the SweepsU.com Forums, so we can all enjoy and learn from each other’s experiences. We want to hear about your "Adventures in Sweepstaking"! I like to think that it is that daredevil attitude that makes sweepers special!
*To view more photos from the Jeep Stick in the Mud contest visit Gwen’s Community page on SweepsU.com
**Photo and story printed with full permission from Fran Perry.
