This year, my adventures began in July, as I left early to spend four days with Helene Hadsell’s granddaughter, Melissa Waters, before heading to the Annual National Sweepstakes Convention. This trip was a combined Words For Winning and Contest Queen adventure.

Aug 6

I don’t believe Melissa and I could have squeezed more into four days. (Read Part 1.) After a relaxing breakfast, I finished packing and headed to Little Rock to pick up my sweepstakes friend Wendy at the airport. 

After we checked in, we registered for the convention, and we then live-streamed assembling the prizes I brought into gift bags—definitely chaotic. Once done, we went thrifting, followed by a stop at Dollar Tree to purchase a few items we had forgotten, and ended the night with breakfast for dinner at IHOP. (Watch the Packing Prizes video.)

Aug 7

As the convention didn’t start until the evening, after breakfast, we went shopping again for the few things I had discovered I needed for my Canadian Trivia Instagram Contest and, of course, more thrifting. As I had been gifted some Panera gift cards by fellow sweepers, I treated us to lunch before we returned to the hotel to get ready for the convention’s opening. 

After a bit of a rest, we dropped off all the prize packs I was donating, visited the Vendor Room, bought some raffle tickets, and headed to the convention hall to deposit our Pick-a-Prize tickets. As we had a big lunch, we had a snack in the room and headed down for all the fun.

Following the Meet & Greet was the Future Planning Meeting, at which the Orlando club volunteered to run in 2027. They are currently searching for venues, and full details will be released in Phoenix, AZ, next year. (Yes, each club that runs an event gets two whole years to organize and plan. They need it as it’s a massive undertaking, especially being volunteer-run and being organized around your regular daily life.)

The prize packs and bags full of Canadian treats were a huge hit. You can see more convention photos on Facebook and videos on Instagram.

Aug 8

After getting ready for the day, Wendy and I headed down to claim our seats for the day. As part of the convention welcome package, you receive a set of five tickets with your name on them. Each is a different color, along with the session name. You must place your ticket in the draw drum before the session starts; otherwise, you won’t be eligible for any prizes that session.

We had some great speakers, including Velma Greene, who won $100,000 by talking about Winning With Your TV.  The convention got off to a strong start when I won a Creami and a sticker printer that my daughter promptly claimed when I got home. Thankfully, as I drove, it would be easy to get all my prizes home, big and small.

For lunch, we went out for BBQ, and Simms didn’t disappoint. The portions were so big that we brought half of our meals back.

In the afternoon, Chris Rechtsteiner taught us about Staying Safe While Sweeping, and then we were all given colored popsicle sticks. Plinko was played, and each team won a different prize based on how well their representative played. I got a mini bag sealer. 

After a rest, we headed to the local stadium to watch the Arkansas Travelers take on the Frisco Rough Riders. Our tickets included the perfect baseball dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and soda. Unlike the major leagues, the minor leagues involve fans at every opportunity. There were numerous challenges played between innings for prizes. The game was endlessly entertaining. And it didn’t stop when the game was over. We stayed for the Friday Fireworks. 

Aug 9

In the morning session, a sweepstakes club (I forgot to write down which one-ugh) had us all singing a winning song called WINSPIRATION to the tune of Locomotion. It was so fun!!

My adventures with Wendy began right away, as my car was packed with all the prizes I had planned to donate. After squeezing her luggage into the car, we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch as our room wouldn’t be ready until mid-afternoon. We made a pitstop at Trader Joe’s for snacks and to add to my extensive bag collection.

We had a fantastic speaker (I forgot to write down her name-this seems to be a trend today), but she spoke on fandoms and the power of community. That is precisely the best-kept secret of the hobby. The people I have met and the friends I have made have changed my life in the best ways.

I won $50 cash in the morning and a Subway gift card in the afternoon, then some of my own prize donations at the banquet from the Friendship drawing. I gave the chocolates to Mike, who loved them. Wendy did well, winning prizes from the vendor drawings, including a Kate Spade purse! 

As neither of us purchased After Party Tickets, we went and hung out with some fellow sweepers in the lounge before heading back to the room.

Aug 10

The final session featured a video interview between Tom Cavalli and seasoned sweeper Steve d’Aldolf (which you can watch on YouTube) vs an in-person speaker. The last of the prizes was given out, and the gauntlet was passed to the Saguaro Sweepstakes Club, as they are hosting the 2026 convention. Florida was also announced as the official destination for 2027, and details will be released next year.

We said our goodbyes, and Wendy and I headed to brunch with Charles and xxx. We met them when we attended the 2016 sweepstakes convention in Las Vegas while having dinner at Batistas. They were sitting at the next table. As one does, we got chatting. Wendy has been friends with them on Facebook for the past nine years. It turns out they live in Little Rock. We had a wonderful time and got to explore an area of the city that we might not have had the chance to see otherwise.

Afterward, we went to the ESSE Purse Museum. (There are only two in the world!) followed by a jaunt to the Saracen Casino, just a short drive out of the city. I won $65 and had a great time!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Sonic so I could try a dirty soda and Wendy could get snacks. Delicious. 

Aug 11

All conventions follow the same format, and this one was no different.  It kicked off wth the Meet & Greet, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. There are a lot of hellos and hugs as we find friends all over the hall. A welcome speech was followed by the Pick-a-Prize prize draws. I didn’t win anything, but the highlight of the evening was a money machine. If you chose to participate with your Pick-a-Prize tickets, you went in and tried to grab as much play money as you could. Some were plain, but others had prizes on them. So much fun! No one won the big prizes, so they were given away during the banquet.

Wendy won and bought so much stuff that we had to make a quick trip to the thrift store to buy her another suitcase to get home. After we got her packed, we headed to the airport as she had a 2:00 PM flight, and I headed to Burleson, TX. (I chose to stay at a new hotel in Burleson as the one in Alvarado was getting a bit old. Plus, it was only 10 minutes further from Helene Hadsell’s old home.) 

Of course, I had to stop at Buc-ee’s on the way into Dallas-Fort Worth. Then, once I arrived at the hotel, I settled in and did some laundry. I went to bed early because I was meeting Dike the next day and picking up my boyfriend, George, from the DFW airport that evening.

Read Part 1 on Words For Winning.

Read Part 3 on Words For Winning.