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…
- 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.
- Take a look at the card that Patsy “whipped up” for SuAnn. Amazing, right?! Patsy, you have an amazing talent.
- 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
