Sunday, March 9, 2008

2 cool contests!

I thought these were cool. Good luck everyone! Hope some of us can win.

Search is on for favorite military mom
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 5, 2008 16:32:31 EST

A military mom you know could be America’s Favorite Mom, to be crowned on an NBC special airing on Mother’s Day, May 11.

“Military moms” could be serving overseas in uniform, holding down the homefront fort for deployed spouses, or troops’ own mothers.Nominations are being accepted through April 30. Videos, photos and essay testimonials can be uploaded to the show’s Web site. Once nominated, moms can win thousands of dollars in online prizes and sweepstakes.“Military moms” is one of five categories in the competition.

The others are single moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms and unconventional moms.Thousands already have been nominated, and anyone can vote for the nominees online, although there is no way to search specifically for “military mom” entries, or enter that category. Entries will be sorted by category when semi-finalists are chosen.So it might be a good idea to make the military connection and impact clear in your video entry, picture, and essay — if you wish the entry to be considered for that category. Most military moms would qualify for one of the other categories, as well.

The top 15 nominees from the five categories will appear on NBC’s “Today Show” and viewers will vote for their favorite at the end of each show. The winners in each of the five categories will appear on the “America’s Favorite Mom” special, where the winner will be crowned.The panelists who will select the semi-finalists have not been confirmed yet, but the selections will not be based solely on the number of votes received, according to a spokeswoman for sponsor Teleflora; the panelists will consider the quality of submissions as well. Meanwhile, Web team members are monitoring the votes and entries, and are giving out prizes based on the entries.

The winner will have a rose named in her honor, and will receive thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, including an 18-karat gold heart-shaped “America’s Favorite Mom” pendant trimmed in diamonds.USAA, partnering with Telefora to help raise awareness about the contest in the military community, will give the winner a $2,500 cruise gift certificate from Explore Cruise Travel and a free yearlong financial strategies plan.

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ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover’ seeks an Army family
By Office of the chief of public affairs News Release

ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a show that highlights families and individuals who have extremely emotional and compelling stories by completely rebuilding and remodeling their homes. The show is seeking an Army family for an upcoming episode, and Soldiers across the country who meet the criteria are encouraged to self-nominate.
~To be eligible, a family must own their own single family home and be able to show producers how a makeover will make a difference in their lives.
~A nomination containing the names and ages of all household members, a description of the challenges within the home, and an explanation about why the family is deserving is required.
~ The family should be a positive role model within the community and must send photos of the family and the home, as well as contact information, with the nomination.

All nominations are due by Thursday. Also, for legal reasons, Soldiers must consider gift and endorsement issues. Legal considerations include the following:
•Army personnel must apply to the show on their own.
•If the member selected incurs an illness or injury while on active duty on or after 9/11/01 as a direct result of armed conflict, hazardous service, or in a combat operation or zone, he or she may accept the gift of the make-over, but the appropriate ethics counselor is required to make a written determination.
•If the member selected does not meet the above criteria, the member should treat the transaction as outside employment, rather than acceptance of a gift. In other words, the member allows his or her image and house to be used as the basis for a television show, and the compensation for doing that is the make-over.
•The member may owe taxes on the make-over and may want to consult a tax advisor or legal services.
•The member will be acting in a personal capacity, so may not allow the show to use his or her title, position, organization name or any other government authority to endorse the show, network, etc.

The show may use the member’s rank. The member’s ethics counselor should provide oversight and counseling during this period, and should talk to the show’s liaison to explain Army rules. Soldiers who are interested in applying should contact Lt. Col. Paul Sinor, Entertainment Liaison, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, Los Angeles Branch, at 310-235-7621 or e-mail james.p.sinor@us.army.mil.

3 comments:

wendy said...

I saw the information about the Extreme Home Makeover contest at the library this week. I wish we owned a house...

I thought it was interesting that if you were wounded your home would be fixed up as a gift, but if not, you would be taxed. strange. I hope a really cool wounded warrior and family wins!

The Mrs. said...

I think its great that military moms are going to get the credit they deserve! Holding down the fort is hard enough, I couldnt imagine having to leave my babies behind for up to 15 mths at a time to go serve. God bless em!

Ana said...

I'm curious why they are only seeking someone from the Army. Did they not get the memo that other services have spent time overseas, too?

But the ABC thing looks interesting. I'm gonna have to check on the finalists and send off a vote.