Category: Blog

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Toyota What’s Your Sign Contest encourages participation from the community

For about the past five years we’ve been working with REACH, an experiential marketing and event management agency. Over the last year they have come to us for assistance for several promotions for their client, Toyota Motor North America, that are tied to Toyota’s sponsorship of the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon Series. We’ve been working with REACH on a new promotion that just launched last week called the Toyota What’s Your Sign Contest which will now be running till the late November.

Toyota became the official vehicle sponsor of the Rock ’N’ Roll Marathon Series back in 2015, and is one of several sponsors. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series has made running over 20 years now. The Series infuses each event with live bands, cheer teams and more. For 2018 the Series organizers, IRONMAN, are now promising to bring more music, better runner support, improved technology, and more community engagement to every event.

This year Toyota is continuing with their ROCK YOUR RUN theme. Runners and their supporters can find Toyota’s footprint at each event including at the finish line. During each festival in the 19 cities throughout the U.S., Toyota will have various vehicles on display and will offer fun games and also give out complimentary gifts. This new Contest was launched to coincide with the 2018 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago race which was held this past weekend. The next event will take place in Dublin, Ireland, and then it comes back to the states on September 1st in Virginia Beach.

The Toyota What’s Your Sign Contest invites people to show off their best sign – motivational, inspirational or just plain funny. They are directed to the online contest page where they need to fill out the required fields on the entry form and upload a photo of their sign. The contest page includes photos of three different signs to help depict what the message photo should contain.

The one Grand Prize winner will receive a trip for themselves and a guest to attend an upcoming U.S. Rock ‘n’ Roll race that is scheduled to take place on or before November 30, 2019. The prize package includes the round-trip airfare for two to the race city, hotel accommodations for two nights and a $250 BROOKS gift certificate which is valued at $2,700.

The Contest submission period is open till November 12, 2018. Once that period has ended a panel of judges will review all eligible photos that were submitted and will choose five finalists based on the following judging criteria: 30% inspiration, 35% design, 35% originality and creativity. The photos from the five finalists will then be showcased in an online photo gallery and people will be invited to visit the gallery and vote for the photo they believe is the best. The voting period will be open from November 15 – 25. The photo that receives the most votes will be deemed the Grand Prize winner.

For this Contest we are again utilizing the Shortstack application in which we have built the entry form and are collecting all the entrant’s data along with their photos. I have given the REACH team direct access to the campaign as well as a separate, private, online page that was created so that they could view all the photos that are submitted in real time. Once it is time to judge all the photos, REACH will be able to share this page with the judges so they can chose the five finalists. At that time we will then update the photo gallery to display only the five finalists, add the voting capability and open it up for all  to view and vote. One vote per day, per person will be allowed.

All of Shortstack’s entry pages are mobile friendly from the start with Shortstack’s “One Campaign for any screen” design philosophy. Each campaign created is assigned a URL address which can be customized by adding text to the beginning of the address, but keeping the characters that where originally assigned. In this case Toyota wanted a fully customized URL address so we purchased www.Toyotawhatsyoursign.com and am hosting the page. We took the embed code from the Shortstack campaign and added that to the new online page. If you would like more details on how to set up a promotion utilizing the Shortstack platform, please feel free to contact me. It’s a great tool and it also includes a great team of support people.

Hilary Van Messel, Producer at REACH stated “Similar to previous contests, this Contest goal is to develop a following and spark action in the Rock ’N’ Roll Marathon community. Differently, this Contest runs for an extended period of time, so we’re promoting it in fun and different ways, including a cyclist in each of the cities who passes out little business cards that explain the Contest to the supporters on the sidelines of the race courses. We hope that people get excited to enter, whether that is through our promo work or the trip for two Grand Prize.” Currently there have been a few photos submitted to the Contest. The Contest is also being promoted on various online social channels as well as it will be featured throughout the year on the official Rock ‘N Roll Marathon Facebook page. 

The Join Me In Jamaica Sweepstakes is added to the Jamaica Tourist Board’s campaign

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) a couple of months ago launched their new Join Me In Jamaica digital marketing campaign. The campaign includes several 90-second videos featuring local Jamaican celebrities and friends of Jamaica sharing unique stories about the love for their profession, and their homeland and what makes it a great place to visit.

“The Join Me in Jamaica campaign was created with today’s savvy traveler in mind as purchasing decisions as to where one will vacation are often made after a series of online searches. These short videos will serve to entice visitors to come experience our destination and our greatest asset, our people,” noted Donovan White, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism in a press release.

We have now just started working with their agency, Finn Partners, to assist with the launch of the Join Me In Jamaica Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes, along with the campaign videos, will be targeted to those in the continental U.S. and Canada. It will be promoted through JTB’s social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as through a digital ad campaign aimed at reaching consumers where they look for inspiration while making travel decisions.

The sweepstakes just launched and people can enter by visiting www.joinmeinjamica.com and filling out an online registration form. At the end of the sweepstakes period, which ends on August 17, we will draw two Grand Prize Winners, one from the U.S. and one from Canada. Each grand prize winner will receive a trip to Jamaica that includes two round-trip economy air tickets along with a 4-night stay for two people in Jamaica, two nights at the Round Hill Hotel and Villas and two nights at Terra Nova All Suite Hotel. Also included are round trip transfers to and from the airport and the hotel. The prize is valued at $3,000 each.

A total of eight videos for the campaign were produced covering a variety of interests and passion points highlighting Jamaica’s music, cuisine and attractions. Each video was created through the eyes of local celebrities and personalities that share their stories about why they love their beautiful island. Here is one that features Chef Martin Maginley of Round Hill Resort and Villas, one of the hotels that’s included in the prize package.

You can see all eight videos of the campaign that feature the other local celebrities from Jamaica here at JoinMeInJamaica. Definitely makes we want to visit soon!

FIFA World Cup themed Mobile Game Promotion from the Coca-Cola and 7-Eleven Team

As we get close to the World Cup final game the excitement is building this week so I thought I’d write about a big promotion that I read about that is currently going on.

Coca-Cola brands and 7-Eleven have teamed up for the second time for the convenience store chain’s largest-ever in-store promotion around the World Cup tournament. More than 61,000 7-Eleven stores in 14 countries are participating, including 9,100 stores in the U.S. This time, the promotion features a “Predict A Score” game and sweepstakes requiring use of the retailer’s 7Rewards customer loyalty mobile app.

While the promotion is global, it has a local flavor in each country with unique products and promotions. The participating countries include Canada, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Denmark and Sweden. In the United States, specially marked “Share a Coke” cans at participating 7-Elevens have unique codes under their tabs that can be used to play the “Predict and Score” game in the retailer’s loyalty app. These include exclusive 16-ounce soda cans featuring a QR code that shoppers can scan to access exclusive content such as mobile wallpapers for smartphones, a 2014 FIFA World Cup mobile game and a link to the 7-Eleven mobile application. Also available on 7-Eleven shelves in the United States during July are size-5 commemorative soccer balls featuring the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Coca-Cola trademarks.

“The QR code brings an added-value experience to our guests,” said Margaret Chabris, director of corporate communications at 7-Eleven Inc., Dallas, TX. “The customer scanning the QR code not only gets the exclusive 2014 FIFA World Cup wallpaper, but also access to a mobile FIFA World Cup Game on the Coca-Cola Ahh.com Web site, and instructions on how to download the 7-Eleven app for lots of fun and exciting offers.”

Players can also earn 7Rewards points redeemable for select items at participating 7-Elevens, plus chances to win prizes and a sweepstakes grand prize of $50,000. For Coca-Cola, which has been sponsoring the FIFA games since 1978, the promotion is one of a score of sales-boosting efforts tied to the tournament. Each week through July 15, a bracket featuring upcoming games and teams appears in the 7-Eleven app. Each time 7Rewards members choose their picks to win in a given week, they earn 10 points, plus five points for each correct prediction. Only one game code may be entered per week.

Players who predict correctly can also move up the leaderboard after each week’s winning soccer teams are determined. The four players at the top of the leader board when the championship game concludes on July 15 will win prizes that include a $2,000 Delta Vacations gift card, $1,000 and $600 Best Buy gift cards, and a year-long sports streaming package. The next five players in the ranking will receive 10,000 7Rewards points. Thousands of 7Rewards points will be awarded to the balance of the top 300 players. All game winners and eligible entrants will be entered into the sweepstakes which continues through Aug. 31 for a chance to win the $50,000 grand prize.

 

 

Bull Rides & Duck Guides Giveaway from Banded to launch July 4th!

Banded is at it again. They, along with their prize provider partners, are launching a new sweepstakes with another big prize package. The Bull Rides & Duck Guides Giveaway Sweepstakes officially launches next week on July 4th to help celebrate this American holiday!

With this sweepstakes participants only need to sign up and fill out the online entry form once for a chance to win one of two great prize packages. The first prize is another very unique package that the team has put together, a professional bull riding experience. This  includes two tickets for two nights to attend The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Finals 2018 which will take place November 10-11 in Las Vegas. The package also includes two round trip airline tickets for this winner and their guest to Las Vegas, a private tour of the Bull Housing and a meet & great with Bruiser (ABBI Classic & PBR World Champion Bull). The American Bucking Bull, Inc. (ABBI) and Banded Gear will also be throwing in a package each of their gear and Benelli is including one of their shotguns as well. The total value of the prize package is $4,000.

We’re going to be drawing the winner for this first prize package before the end date of the sweepstakes, on or about October 24, in order to have ample time to contact the winner and be able to make their reservations to travel to Las Vegas for the event. The PBR has been hosting this competition since 1994. They state on their website that “professional bull riding is America’s original extreme sport, a fierce, rough, and grueling sport with roots deeply imbedded in American culture. The PBR has evolved into a captivating and adrenaline charged sporting event that features an all star cast of the greatest bull riders and bucking bulls in the world.”

The second grand prize package is even bigger. It starts with a guided duck hunt which will take place in Arkansas for the winner and their guest which includes two nights at the hunting lodge and, if needed, two round airline tickets to Arkansas. However, also included in the prize package is a War Eagle 17′ Banded Edition “Gladiator” Boat with trailer.  So the thinking is the winner may want to drive to Arkansas so that they can drive home with the boat. The ABBI and Banded are both also each providing a package for this prize winner and a Benelli Shotgun is also included. Total value of this prize package is $19,500. This drawing for this prize will take place once the sweepstakes ends, on or about November 8.

Both of these prize packages were created directly for the Banded community. BANDED was originally formed by a group of avid outdoorsmen, innovators, and product designers that joined forces after years of working in the outdoor industry. Their goal has been to create superior products to enhance the outdoor experience with a special focus on duck hunters.

Last summer I wrote this post about a new sweepstakes for Banded that kicked off called The Waterfowlers Dream Boat Giveaway in which they gave away another War Eagle boat and trailer. Before that I wrote another post about this very unique sweepstakes we worked with them on, The Bring Avery Home Sweepstakes, in which the main highlight was the prize, Avery, the hunting dog. A great dog lover won this prize and I say that not only because the winner had to answer many questions to meet the eligibility requirements, but also cause he has a golden retriever, which so do I.

So I’m hoping we end up with another successful promotion for Banded and all the prize providers that helped to make this sweepstakes possible. Also that we end up with two very happy winners that love the prize packages!

Laid-Back USA offers a chance to win a 1957 Chevy

We’ve lately been assisting with several different sweepstakes that are giving away a car. This one recently started this month and will be running till next year.

The Twice-Baked Sweepstakes is for an online company called Laid-Back USA. They started off just as a t-shirt company and now not only sell shirts but also hats, accessories and signs, that fit into different collections from “Laid-Back Rides” to “Laid-Back” Dogs, to Fishing, to  Beach Life. All that fit the “Laid-Back lifestyle”.

The “ride” that they will be awarding with this sweepstakes is a 1957 Chevrolet valued at $30,000. The Grand Prize winner will need to travel to either Idaho or North Carolina to pick up the car. The sponsor is offering one round trip air ticket from the winner’s residence, along with one night’s hotel accommodations, in order to help the winner take possession of the car.

In order to enter the sweepstakes a participant will receive one entry for every $5.00 that they spend on the online store. For example this $25 Twice-Baked Rusty 57 Chevy Men’s Chill T-shirt is equal to five entries. Participants may also gain entries into the sweepstakes without purchase by sending an mail-in entry to the address outlined in the Official Rules which we will be collecting. A total of 200 entries per person regardless of the method of entry will be accepted.

Obviously their goal is to direct traffic to the online store and to create sales. This $5 purchase requirement appears to be a very popular tactic right now with several different types of online retailers, many awarding a car or other big value prize. We’ll have to wait a while though to see if this sweepstakes turns out successful for Laid-Back, USA. A 1957 Chevy though is a pretty cool prize you have to admit.

Battle of the BBQ Sweepstakes from Uncle Ray’s invites fans to vote for their favorites

Uncle Ray’s Potato Chips is one of our newest clients through our sister company, Alliance Sweepstakes Services, who just started running their Battle of the BBQ Sweepstakes on June 1. They are inviting their fans to vote for their favorite potato chip flavor from the choice of Memphis Style, Carolina Gold, Kansas City or Tex Mex. The sweepstakes will be running till the end of August, but right now according to their website, Memphis Style is in the lead.

One way Uncle Ray’s is offering people to vote is by text message. People can text either KANSAS, CAROLINA, TEXAS or MEMPHIS to the short code, 555888 to vote for their favorite flavor which also gives them one entry into the sweepstakes. Or people can go directly to the website, www.UncleRays.com/BBQ, and fill out the short entry form and select their favorite flavor from the drop down menu in the form. This provides them with one sweepstakes entry. People are encouraged to share their favorite flavor by using the hashtag #BeyondGood.

On the website people also have the option to vote for their favorite minor league baseball team which are also listed in a drop down menu on the entry form. Of the 22 teams listed, the Tennessee Smokies are in the lead right now. Uncle Rays is an official sponsor of minor league baseball so this is one way for them to leverage their sponsorship.

At the end of the sweepstakes we will conduct 5 separate drawings. One drawing will take place from each one the four different flavor pools of entries to determine the four Grand Prize winners. Each Grand Prize winner will receive an Uncle Ray’s and Minor League Baseball co-branded meat smoker valued at $900. One other drawing will be conducted from all those that voted for the MiLB team that received the highest number of votes to determine one winner. That winner will receive two 2019 season tickets to that MiLB team which is valued at $1,000.

As the Uncle Ray’s website says, “I don’t know what you young folks are saying these days. Probably BOOYEAH or THAT’S THE BOMB or some other nonsense. Just tell us what your favorites are and share it with your family and friends. Make sure to say #BeyondGood when you do.” So we’ll see who gets the most votes. Unfortunately I can’t try these flavors because Uncle Ray’s isn’t available in New York State. They can be found in most states east of the Mississippi except NY and New England.

We have been working closely with Uncle Ray’s agency Ignite XDS which has created all of the marketing materials. They will be promoting the sweepstakes on the product packaging, on signage in the minor league baseball parks, through in-park announcements, radio ads and online banner and web ads.

Breathe Easy Sweepstakes from Poo-Pourri requests participants to produce and post their own videos

You might have seen some of the very unique video ads that Poo~Pourri has created on YouTube while you’re waiting for another video to start. They’ve produced some very engaing and funny videos to talk about a product that no one really wants to talk about. If you haven’t seen this lady in the blue dress who is in the ads and has a nice English accent then click on this link to watch.

Poo-Pourri is a pure blend of natural essential oils that stops bathroom odor before it begins developed by Scentsible LLC. We are currently assisting them with their 2018 Breathe Easy Sweepstakes. They have invited people to show how the chemical-free formula of Poo~Pourri helps them to Breathe Easy by producing and posting their own video for a chance to win up to a $500 Amazon gift card.

Participants can enter multiple ways. They can post their video to their personal Instagram or Twitter account using the promotional hashtag #BreatheEasySweepstakes and tagging @poopourri. They can also post it on Facebook by visiting the Poo-Pourri Facebook page, finding the sweepstakes post and including the link to their video in a comment to the post. There is also this sweepstakes webpage that participants can visit and fill out the sweepstakes registration form and include a link to their video.

There are actually four periods to this sweepstakes and it’s now in the final countdown ending tomorrow, May 31st. Each week one random winner is drawn who will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. Once the sweepstakes ends, one Grand Prize winner will be randomly selected from all entries who will receive a $500 Amazon gift card.

We are again using the Shortstack application to assist with this sweepstakes. We have created this online webpage that pulls all the posts from both Instagram and Twitter that have used the promotional hashtag #BreatheEasySweepstakes. I wrote a post last month about two new hashtag sweepstakes we are running for Danmar Equipment that did just that. In their case we are also hosting the promotional websites so participants can enter multiple ways, either on Twitter or Instagram, or through an online entry form. So this is a new feature that we’re seeing more and more of our clients using.

We anticipate doing more of these types of promotions that utilize hashtag entries. If you would like more details on how to set up a promotion utilizing the Shortstack application please feel free to contact me. It’s a great tool and it also includes a great support team. Hope you enjoyed the Poo-Pourri ads.

Deschutes Brewery has success with text-to-win sweepstakes

One of our clients through our sister company, Alliance Sweepstakes Services, has been utilizing text-to-win sweepstakes now for the past three years. Deschutes Brewery is a craft beer company headquartered in Oregon and their beer is available in 29 states throughout the U.S. and in D.C. They have been run these text-to-win sweepstakes during the past two years which they have had great success with. So they plan to run more of them this year. Here are a few of them that have launched so far.

They kicked off the year on February 1 with their Camping Chairs Sweepstakes. This will run for nine months until the end of October and award 10 winners each month who will each receive a Deschutes Brewery branded Camping Chair worth about $50. All they have to do is text the word “CampChair” to the shortcode 65047 which we provide through the mobile platform that we have partnered with call Sweeppea. Upon receipt of the text message, the entrant receives a response message confirming the proper keyword and providing a link to the mobile Sweepstakes entry form which they have to enter their name, mailing address, phone number, date of birth, and e-mail address. People can also go straight to the online form to enter as well. Each completed entry form generates an entry and people can enter once a day. So they have several months to possibly become a winner.

The next sweepstakes was launched on March 1 for their Stand Up Paddle Board Giveaway. This will run for just four months until the end of June when the final drawing will take place shortly after that. Five Grand Prize winners will each receive a custom Deschutes Brewery inflatable stand up paddleboard from Stand On Liquid which has a value of $700. Plus 30 second prize winners will each receive an Outdoor Research Dry Isolation Pack valued at $50. The total prize pool value of this sweepstakes is $5,000. People can enter similar to the Champing Chairs Sweepstakes but in this case, they must use the keyword “SUP” when they text in.

The third sweepstakes that the Brewery currently has going is the Grizzly Cooler Sweepstakes. This just launched on May 15 and runs till July 15, so only two months for this one. Entrants text the word “Grizzly” to enter for a chance to win a Deschutes Brewery branded Grizzly Cooler valued at $800 that can hold 160 cans of beer along with some ice. Or they could be one of the 20 second prize winners that could win a smaller, soft-sided Grizzly cooler that has a $50 value. People can also enter directly on the Deschutes Brewery website.

So as you can tell by these prize selections, Deschutes Brewery seems to really know their customers and has defined them as outdoor enthusiasts. With these sweepstakes Deschutes Brewery not only collects the entrant’s mobile phone number, but their name, email address and mailing address, which makes it easy to ship out the prizes directly to the winners. Since this sweepstakes is for an alcohol beverage brand we need to make sure that entrants are 21 years of age or older as well so that is why we ask for their date of birth.

One of the main objective of these text-to-win sweepstakes is for the brands to receive extra awareness at retail and bar locations. Many alcohol beverage brands are now utilizing text to win and other types of sweepstakes promotions in order to gain the extra display at point of sale that promote the sweepstakes. Deschutes Brewery has a couple more of these types of sweepstakes scheduled further in the year which I’ll keep you posted on.

Are you ready for the upcoming Royal Wedding? Here’s a couple of Royal Sweepstakes that are engaging fans.

The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is finally here, this Saturday, May 19th. The wedding takes place at Windsor Castle in England at noon BST (7am ET/4am PT). In the U.S. if you want to watch ABC will start live coverage at 5am ET, CBS and CNN at 4am ET, NBC at 4:30am ET, Fox News at 6am ET, as well others. Many of us in the U.S. are extremely excited about this royal wedding since Megan Markle is an American who is also an actress and will be the first bi-racial to become a royal.

Brands in pretty much every category have found this to be an irresistible opportunity to engage consumers. One of our clients, Sandals Resorts, who we have worked with for several years, has jumped on the bandwagon. They are currently running the “Vacation like a Royal” Sweepstakes. They are offering two grand prizes which are each a chance to win an eight day luxury Caribbean all-inclusive vacation for two to experience the royal treatment at one of their Sandals Resorts which include Sandals Royal Caribbean, Sandals Royal Barbados, Sandals Royal Bahamian and Sandals Royal Plantation.

This royal vacation features luxurious accommodations in one of their Butler suites which comes with butler service, unlimited 5-star gourmet dining, all drinks which include premium spirits and wines, water sports and scuba diving, complimentary green fees at their golf resorts, round-trip airport transfers plus all tips, gratuities and hotel taxes.

U.S residents can enter by visiting Sandals.com and completing the online entry form at www.Sandals.com/royal. The sweepstakes started back on April 1 and ends May 20. Sandals claims to be the undisputed leader of Caribbean vacation experiences with a total of 24 properties in seven countries including Antigua, The Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Turks and Caicos. So this is a great prize.

Also in honor of the upcoming royal wedding Tetley Tea is running the Royal Diamond Teacup Sweepstakes and offering a chance to win the grand prize of Tetley’s “Royal Diamond Teacup”. This teacup has a one-carat diamond embedded in the handle. To enter, U.S. residents 18 and older can go to a Tetley Facebook page or to www.TetleyRoyalDiamondTeacup.com and fill out a “Which Royal Family Member Are You?” quiz, by May 19. Ten runner-up prizes packs are also available to be won which consist of one box of Tetley British Blend Tea, one box of shortbread cookies, and one teacup

Also, U.S. married couples who are named Harry and Meghan, and submit their marriage certificates to [email protected] on May 19, will be eligible to receive a box of Tetley British Blend Tea each month for a year.

So be prepared to either get up early Saturday morning to watch live the ceremony, or remember to set your DVR.

The $10,000 Shopping Spree Contest from Milano Diamond Gallery helps celebrate the Month of May (and Moms)

May is finally here which brings us new life to our gardens and landscapes. It also is the month of Mother’s Day, Graduations and the beginning of the wedding season. So what better month to kick off a new promotion that’s offering a chance to win lots of jewelry! The Milano Diamond Gallery $10,000 Shopping Spree Contest is doing just that.

Milano started out as a small jewelry store in Jamaica over 20 years ago. They now provide exclusive, classically designed diamonds & gemstone jewelry with a modern flair. They carry various boutique designers like Chrysalis and Le Vian and have all types of jewelry including rings, earrings, bracelets, watches and more. You can shop the Milano Gallery at www.shopmilano.com, or at one of their 40 port locations you can easily find coming off a cruise in the Caribbean, Mexico and in the USA.

The contest will be running for a full year up to April 30, 2019. Participants are invited to enter the contest by visiting one of the Milano port locations and taking a photo of themselves wearing or showing their favorite piece of Milano jewelry or watch. They must then Tweet or post the photo either on Twitter or Instagram and include the promotion hashtag, #Milano$10KContest. They must also follow and tag the sponsor on Instagram @milanodiamondgallery or on Twitter @milanodg.

They may also visit the sponsor’s Facebook page and like the page, locate the contest post, upload their photo as a comment to the post and include the hashtag #Milano$10KContest. An alternate way to enter without having to physically be in one of the Milano port locations is to Tweet or post a photo of their favorite Milano jewelry which can be found on their website. Participants must still include the promotional hashtag #Milano$10KContest

At the end of the contest period a panel of judges will review all the posted photos and choose one Grand Prize winner that they will base on the following judging criteria; 34% Creativity and Originality; 33% Enthusiasm; 33% messaging. In the case of a tie, the score for Creativity and Originality will determine the winner. The Grand Prize winner will receive $10,000 in-store credit that may be used in-store in any Milano port location or online at www.shopmilano.com.

Milano is currently offering some great gift ideas on their website for Mother’s Day and for graduates. As a family we traveled to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten for several years where we vacationed with my parents. There was one jewelry store there that we shopped at quite often that my mother really loved. Between my mom, my sister, myself, and also some gifts for my daughters, we expanded our jewelry collection quite nicely. It brings back some very happy memories. I miss my mom very much. Happy Mother’s Day to all moms.