Hi there! While I would LOVE to be able to jump on the naysayer bandwagon... I feel compelled to clear the air for all those parents out there who want to show off their beautiful babies. In November(I think) of 2007, I submitted a photo of my daughter, along with $20 to the "Fame & Fortune Contest" - please note, the Fame & Fortune Contest IS a part of the Great American Photo Contest... however, it's the alternate contest where you actually pay an entry fee...and I believe it's a bi-annual contest. They also have the free entry contest that occurs monthly, and yes, you DO have to deal with the spam of ads and offers... how do you think they keep the contest free? But I digress... the point here is to tell you... IT'S LEGIT! How cool it was to find out last Thanksgiving (November 2008) that we had won the Grand Prize! As it states on the rules you get a U.S. Treasury Bond... which means, yes, it's valued @ $25, 000... but you gotta wait until it matures... but hey, it's a VALID, US TREASURY BOND... and wow! You WON! Additionally, we were so excited to have had the opportunity to meet Mr. Gillon (CEO) and his family when they came down to personally deliver the prize. They also brought my daughter a trophy so that she had a tangible memory! Not only that, but we got our 15 minutes of fame...we were published in the local paper, The Orland Sentinel...and then... just this past month... we were proud to see our picture in none other than People Magazine!
Moral to this story: think of ALL the people who enter these contests and the hundred or so who may have had an issue with them... think of other large companies that suffer similar statistics. I'm not negating other people's complaints... what I AM saying is that the contest IS a valid contest. People DO win... and if my daughter hadn't exceeded the age group limit... I'd be entering her again! I think she's JUST...THAT...CUTE. So for all you parents who want to show off your kids, this is a contest worthy enough to give it a shot!
Hi there! While I would LOVE to be able to jump on the naysayer bandwagon... I feel compelled to clear the air for all those parents out there who want to show off their beautiful babies. In November(I think) of 2007, I submitted a photo of my daughter, along with $20 to the "Fame & Fortune Contest" - please note, the Fame & Fortune Contest IS a part of the Great American Photo Contest... however, it's the alternate contest where you actually pay an entry fee...and I believe it's a bi-annual contest. They also have the free entry contest that occurs monthly, and yes, you DO have to deal with the spam of ads and offers... how do you think they keep the contest free? But I digress... the point here is to tell you... IT'S LEGIT! How cool it was to find out last Thanksgiving (November 2008) that we had won the Grand Prize! As it states on the rules you get a U.S. Treasury Bond... which means, yes, it's valued @ $25, 000... but you gotta wait until it matures... but hey, it's a VALID, US TREASURY BOND... and wow! You WON! Additionally, we were so excited to have had the opportunity to meet Mr. Gillon (CEO) and his family when they came down to personally deliver the prize. They also brought my daughter a trophy so that she had a tangible memory! Not only that, but we got our 15 minutes of fame...we were published in the local paper, The Orlando Sentinel...and then... just this past month... we were proud to see our picture in none other than People Magazine!
Moral to this story: think of ALL the people who enter these contests and the hundred or so who may have had an issue with them... think of other large companies that suffer similar statistics. I'm not negating other people's complaints... what I AM saying is that the contest IS a valid contest. People DO win... and if my daughter hadn't exceeded the age group limit... I'd be entering her again! I think she's JUST...THAT...CUTE. So for all you parents who want to show off your kids, this is a contest worthy enough to give it a shot!
I just want to weigh in again here... I entered my daughter in the contest in late 2007 and did not find out I had won until Thanksgiving of 2008. Mind you, I participated in the paid portion of the contest... there were a ton of entries even in that division. My daughter received the prize, they came out to the house and delivered it IN PERSON. The CEO of the company introduced us to his family... yes, these are people like you and I... it's not an automated thing. But it does take time.
If you feel you wasted 2 months voting for your child..then yes, you WASTED it. It's all in how you look at it! I also entered my daughter in the FREE, get that... FREE... contest... and I was PROUD to share with my friends and family what a beautiful little girl she was and since I'm not a spammer, I told them to vote for her... ONE TIME. I didn't browbeat them, because hey, what's the fun in that? Instead, I had a great time... and yeah, so I got a handful of emails telling me to enter my kid in the Great American Photo Contest... and I was like, I already did... but obviously, once you sign up you make your email available for future advertisements. I read the small print... I clicked accept and submit. Life goes on. It wasn't a scam though. Just because you don't win doesn't make it a scam... but posting about it in a fit of angst due to the fact that you did NOT win... just makes us poor sports. And one more thing... MANY contests out there do not post winning results... in fact, in order to get a list of winners, most of the time, you are required to send a SASE to an address. Try and remember it's also supposed to be fun and a way to show off your beautiful children as opposed to looking at it like a competition or a children's beauty pageant. I have this mental image of 16 mothers slinging photos of our kids around the room, screaming that their child is the cutest, while a bunch of toddlers play on the floor together!
Rosiemama, I get it... you're bitter. Don't accuse people of things though. If you actually READ the post I wrote, you'd have seen it said I paid $20 to enter the FAME AND FORTUNE contest... which is not the same as the FREE contest. But if you're so determined to believe that I work for them, try watching the video. Mr. Gillon and his family were awesome. His daughters were playing with my daughter, his parents were there talking to my parents. It was a wonderful surprise just before Christmas. Just be sure you know what you are accusing people of before you start slandering them. I don't work for this company. I work odd hours with a horrible boss for crappy pay just like half the people out there... but then I also accept the fact that NOT EVERYONE WINS. And while yes, my daughter won this contest, she hasn't won EVERY contest we've entered. I'm just able to accept that there are other cute kids out there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhS7NWkhsvY
