During the 2011 summer, we started a new Seaside Vacations tradition and ran a contest to design an Outer Banks t-shirt. Such a great contest. Here we are in December, and we’re still talking about it!

We received a whole bunch of amazing designs, and after some heated voting on our Facebook page, we crowned the Mermaid design as champ – thanks to the fantastic talents of Ms. Patsy.

Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest: "Mermaid" - Winning Design

In my mind, all was said and done. We mailed off Patsy’s prize (a free OBX getaway), and we had some fabulous t-shirts designed and sent to the printer. I was looking forward to our sweet 2012 Outer Banks t-shirts, but my mind had moved on to other tasks.

And then the t-shirt contest gave us a nice surprise. Our team of Vacation Specialists loved the winning design, but they had a soft-spot for one of the other designs. They took it upon themselves to have t-shirts made for the “runner-up,” Ms. SuAnn, and each member of our reservations team. Taken alone, this is a great story…but it gets better.

Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest: SuAnn's Design

Outer Banks T-Shirt Contest: Awesome T-shirts!

We put up a blog post to recognize the unsung hero of the contest and show off the new t-shirts, and the greatness snowballed from there. The team of Vacation Specialists were touched by this awesome design – and amazing person – and luckily I was able to capture a tiny piece of this genuine happiness in the blog post.

As a result, Ms. Patsy – i.e. the amazing artist that designed the winning t-shirt – saw the post and offered to give her free OBX getaway to Ms. SuAnn. Actually, let me rephrase that; she demanded (in a very nice way, of course ) that the prize must go to SuAnn. Patsy made it clear that her decision was made. She packaged up the vacation voucher and a card for SuAnn, and she sent it back to the Seaside Vacations office the next day.

We were amazed by the generosity; in fact, we’re still amazed.

We sent the voucher to SuAnn as a surprise, and we just got word today that the voucher arrived safe and sound…and it was quite a surprise. At this point, we’ll step back from our match-making role and let the “thank you’s” happen one on one. We’ve connected Patsy and SuAnn, and I think there’s a great friendship blooming.

However, before we close out the 2011 Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest and focus on 2012, I’d like to wrap up with a few points…

1. Kindness is definitely at the heart of what makes the world go round, and from the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank all of the participants for being a part of this awesome contest. And a big THANK YOU to Patsy and SuAnn for being super awesome people.
2. Take a look at the card that Patsy “whipped up” for SuAnn. Amazing, right?! Patsy, you have an amazing talent.
3. Last but certainly not least, there’s no way we’re letting Patsy go without her winnings! Patsy, a voucher for your free OBX getaway is headed your way along with a t-shirt with SuAnn’s design. Thanks for being so great. Hope you like your surprise.

2011 Outer Banks T-Shirt Design Contest - Ms. Patsy's Greatness