Bradshaw Couple and South Dakota Woman
Win Grand Prizes in Nebraska Passport Program
OMAHA, NEB. (Oct. 20, 2011)—Craig and Sarah Eberle of Bradshaw, Neb., and Rhonda Tomlinson of Hot Springs, S.D., are grand-prize winners in the 2011 Nebraska Passport program. The Eberles and Tomlinson will receive an Apple® iPad™ valued at $800, in addition to prizes they earned while participating in the program, sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s (DED) Travel and Tourism Division.
Originally only one iPad™ was to be given away, but the overwhelming success of the program led the Division to extend the drawing to one Nebraska and one out-of-state entrant, according to Kathy McKillip, Travel and Tourism Division interim director. The program will continue in 2012.
The passport featured 33 attractions across the state and gave travelers the opportunity to win prizes while they explored Nebraska’s natural beauty and history.
Travelers’ souvenir passports were stamped at participating Nebraska attractions. They submitted tear-out sheets to Nebraska Tourism for prizes corresponding with the number of stamps obtained:
- 11 stamps — Nebraska Passport T-shirt
- 22 stamps — 25 GROW Nebraska gift card
- 33 stamps — Bushnell binocular digital camera
For every 11 stamps submitted, participants received one entry into the grand-prize drawing. They also could submit a blog entry to NebraskaPassport.com for an extra entry in the drawing.
“Great for travelers and the state alike, this program helps travelers plan their vacations and encourages them to explore areas of Nebraska that may be unfamiliar to them,” McKillip said.
Overall, 308 travelers, including families, from 11 states submitted stamps for prizes and were entered into the grand-prize drawing. Of those entries, 75 went to all 33 participating stops and received all three prizes, 41 traveled to 22 or more stops, and 192 entries traveled to 11 or more stops.
