DAY 2

Friday, July 7th

I got up early to hide the first batch of Fairy Prize Dust packs around the main conference hall. (The hotel was spread over 40 acres, and I was worried about the chocolate melting or animals getting hold of the packets.) They were a huge hit again. Looks like it has become an annual event. If someone found one, they had to come and find me for a chance to win another Canadian treat.

Tom Cavalli of iWinContests was this year’s MC, and he did a fantastic job the entire weekend.

I should have mentioned in yesterday’s blog post that we each had a special Pick-A-Prize. Christi Rechtsteiner of SweepSheet and I were a prize. Win dinner with us on Saturday evening. Tom had FexEx’d a mystery prize envelope to the convention. The winner couldn’t open the envelope until instructed to on Saturday.

I was the first speaker of the day. I taught RoboForm 101, which was a bit difficult as I took my 2-hour interactive online workshop and condensed it down to a 20-minute 2D slide show. That said, I think I got enough people fired up about the benefits of the program that they were going to begin, or resume, using it as a sweeping tool.

A big shout out to RoboForm Everywhere for donating five licenses as prizes that I gave away at the end of my talk.

Then Mike Stavros was up next, speaking about Avoiding Scams. He included a very personal story. It highlighted how sophisticated scammers have gotten and vigilant we must be, not only for ourselves but for our friends and family. Entering sweepstakes, or not, in addition to the anti-spam, anti-virus, etc. software that you should have, you need to pay attention to all emails and notifications. They could be phishing or malware attempts.

Then everyone’s favorite part, the session prize draws!!

After a quick snack-y lunch in our room, I headed to the Vendor Room to donate more prizes and buy raffle tickets along with a few lucky charms. Then, as so many people were milling about, I had to be sneaky and hide the next batch of Fairy Prize Dust. I did pretty well until I got caught and had to give Ricky a bonus prize.

The first speaker of the afternoon session was Chris Rechtsteiner, Christi’s husband. He spoke on mastering email. You would think in 2023, there wouldn’t be anything to learn, but you would be wrong. It’s why I love these conventions. Technology is changing so fast that no one person can know it all. I always learn something.

Then both Chris and Christ hosted a sweepstakes trivia game with prizes. So fun! I nearly had one, and the moment I stood up to answer, it popped right out of my head. Oh well.

Then Jenn Day of Print My 3x5s spoke about Mail-in Sweepstakes Tools. Yes, take advantage of every method of winning! One of her must-have tools was an art caddy.

And the final round of prize draws for the day. I didn’t win anything, but there were two more sessions to go. And many loved the prizes I donated!

Friday Evening

Friday evening was a free night with a few optional excursions if you so choose to participate. Susan, Wendy, and I went to the casino. We played the slots for a while and then had a lovely dinner at The Blue Coyote Cafe. Then back to the slots. Wendy was only slightly up as I was down, and Susan was even. As we wanted to go, we tempted Wendy with her favorite treat, ice cream. Little did we know we would have the adventure of our lives.

@contestqueen The adventures with my sweepstakes friends are some of the best I have ever had. @Cold Stone Creamery ???????????? #friends #friendship #adventures #icecream #coldstonecreamery #sweepstakes #convention ♬ original sound – Learn to Win Giveaways!

I was laughing so hard; not only did my stomach hurt. My shoulders hurt. I think this adventure is one for the books.

Go to my Facebook page for the full 34th Annual National Sweepstakes Convention photo album. If you want to contribute any pictures, please email them to me.

You can find a current convention list on my website if you want to attend an event.

Continue to Day 3.