Until last weekend, it had been decades since I had taken part in a spelling bee.For some time now, I’ve said that the Internet will be the ruination of half of us, and so far I consider my prediction to be on track.
But what about the other half?
Helen Swygart of Decatur appears to fall into the half that will survive and even flourish.
A few months ago – she isn’t sure exactly when – Swygart was snooping around the Internet, looking for a place for her family to take a summer vacation. As she pondered all the possibilities, she stumbled across what looked like a contest, something about signing up for an adventure race.
She had to answer a handful of questions, such as “Have you ever been to Virginia Beach before?” and select a team name. As far as her answers to the other questions: “Honestly, I don’t remember,” she said.
As with most contests, Swygart quickly forgot about it. Nobody ever wins those things. We all know that.
Then, Swygart got an e-mail. It read something like, “Congratulations, you won.”
Her first reaction was, “What contest?” She had forgotten about it. Then she thought, “OK, what’s the catch? How much is this going to cost me?”
Her husband, Rodney, had the same reaction.
When the family got a packet in the mail – waivers to sign, media releases to sign, 1099 forms to fill out, agreements that they would wear the wardrobe provided – it became clear it was real. Swygart and her family, going by the team name Fun In the Sun, had actually won a trip to Virginia Beach, with all the airline fees, hotel fees and, she presumes, meals paid for.
“They said the only money we needed was for souvenirs,” Helen Swygart said.
It turns out the Swygart family – she and her husband and two sons – will be competing against nine other families from around the U.S., taking part in a localized version of the TV show “The Amazing Race.”
A former contestant from a season of “The Amazing Race” will host the contest, in which the family will take part in a beach-to-sea race, have a cook-off using coastal cuisine, compete in a scavenger hunt through the city and go on a trek along the city’s 3-mile boardwalk.
If they win, they get a $10,000 prize.
Yes, it’s all part of an attempt by Virginia Beach to promote itself: Get 10 families and get them involved in local activities. Get local papers to write about the contest and draw a little more attention to the city.
So far, Swygart is still a little fuzzy about exactly how it will all work. All she knows is there will be a banquet on a Friday for the families competing, and the competitions will take place on a Saturday and Sunday. They will be given transportation so they won’t get lost, and the winner will be named Sunday.
Win or lose, they will become media figures of a sort. Virginia Beach’s convention and visitors bureau will film all the competitions and activities and turn them into its own little miniseries highlighting all the activities available in the city. The different segments will be placed on YouTube and Facebook.
For the Swygarts’ boys, one of the biggest highlights will come before they even get to Virginia. They’ve never flown before.
Their vacations have always involved the back seat of a Chevy Suburban.
