October 12, 2012, Brewster, MA - At a hugely successful and thrilling event hosted by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce on October 10th, the Who Needs a Vacation? Photo Contest panel of judges selected the winning nominee to receive the Grand Prize of $2000 towards a vacation rental on WeNeedaVacation.com. Kristin Carey, spokesperson for the panel, read the winning nomination with great emotion. Watch the video or read Ms. Carey's announcement below.
"The nomination was submitted by Kay R. and, it says,
'I nominate Kara Froelich, as she celebrates the magic of life and the opportunity to be a wonderful mother and wife! Kara was diagnosed w/Myasthenia Gravis, an auto immune disease causing skeletal muscle weakness (worsens w/activity & improves w/rest) in Dec. 2011. Being misdiagnosed over a year, Kara suffered 3 miscarriages. Once diagnosed they immediately removed her thymus, and my son and Kara are expecting their 1st child in Dec. 2012. The Edgartown Lighthouse in this photo has a memorial at its base in remembrance of children who have died, & includes part of the poem by Tomas Napoleon "A Remembrance of an Unforgotten Vineyard Summer". How wonderful to have a photo of Scott, Kara & my grandchild in front of the Edgartown Lighthouse celebrating life & their own unforgotten Vineyard Summer!'
"So, this is the winner for many reasons but mostly for picture composition and the way {Kay} tied {the photo} into the story. Congratulations to them!"
Coming into the evening, 10 finalists (5 with the top votes from our voting round and 5 chosen by WeNeedaVacation.com) were narrowed down to 3. Many of those attending the Cape Cod Chamber member-to-member meeting held at the Lobster Claw in Orleans remarked on the difficult task faced by our panel in choosing just one winner, but the challenge was met with fervor.
Also during the event on October 10th, WeNeedaVacation.com presented donation checks to representatives present from each of the four non-profit organizations featured in the contest:
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod - Ed DeWitt and Bob Summersgill - $460.00
Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod - Vicki Goldsmith - $210.00
Cape Cod Cares for Our Troops - Gold Star Mom, Cynthia Deslauriers - $195.00
Nauset Neighbors - Dick and Esther Elkin - $130.00
The magic of the evening concluded post-event with a touching acknowledgement from our winning photographer, Kay, who wrote, "I can't begin to say how thrilled I am! Unfortunately Kara is sleeping! What a surprise she will have when she awakes! I just want to say thank you to each of the judges and to WeNeedAVacation.com! This will be a dream come true for Scott, Kara and our new grandchild! Looking forward to their family picture in front of the Edgartown Lighthouse. Again, thank you!"
And later, Kara, our winning nominee responded, "I am floored by this! It has been a more than emotional journey. Thanks to Kay for getting my story out there and thanks to everyone for this wonderful opportunity to see Cape Cod! We have so much to be grateful for these days! Thanks again!"
WeNeedaVacation.com wishes to thank our sponsors -
Mayflower Homemakers, Cape Associates, Inc. and The Furies Linen and Cleaning Service - for their contribution of $500 each to the Grand Prize, and also those who served on our panel of judges:
Dan Piggott, Mayflower Homemakers
Rich Bryant, Cape Associates, Inc.
Sarah Curley, The Furies Linen and Cleaning Service
Kristin Carey, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
Christopher Seufert, Cape Cod Photographer and author of Cape Cod and Islands Reflections and The Cape Cod National Seashore
Click here to see the winning photo, or visit the Contest Gallery to see all photos and nominations submitted to the contest.
Media contacts:
Shannon Russo, shannon@weneedavacation.com (general media)
Becky Fischer, becky@weneedavacation.com (social media)