Thank you for registering your vote for best story in the SNEWS Retail Survivor 2006 Writing Contest!

Thank you for voting! Your friend thanks you for voting — unless of course you are voting for yourself, and then pat yourself on the back and say a hearty, ‘thank you to me!’

While the judges determine the top ten, your vote will help determine who, of those top ten, wins a free trip for two — so start lobbying now so you’re in the running to go along with your best pal — to Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2007.

Three others will be named official “honorable mentions,” and in addition to the valuable prizes, each will receive a gift certificate that can be redeemed toward attendance at an Outdoor Industry Association-sponsored event, such as Outdoor University, Mountain Sports Festival or the OIA Rendezvous.

The grand prize winner will be announced at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2006.

If you have not done so already, and you are a retail staff person working for an outdoor retail specialty store, we invite you to activate a subscription to SNEWS® for free! Simply go to www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/freeretail/snewsarticle-contest.html.

Once we approve your subscription access request (and yes, we do check to see if you are who you say you are — so NO manufacturers, reps, distributors, or non-retail employees please!) you’ll be ready for next year’s writing contest which promises to be bigger and better with more prizes, more wild stories, and more opportunities to win free trips and more free gear than you could dream up on your own.

Simply watch your SNEWS® for announcements calling for our next contest entries and get ready to be a winner!