by Mallory Gruben
Communications Manager
Golden and red leaves, crisp air and occasional rainy downpour mean two things: My favorite season has arrived, and it’s time for the Shop Small Sweepstakes!
Now in its fifth year, the Sweepstakes is the Chamber’s way of encouraging everyone to shop locally, especially over the holiday shopping season. With so many amazing retailers right in your backyard, why not buy your Christmas presents at a locally owned business? The Sweepstakes rewards you for doing just that, with weekly gift card giveaways and the chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree!
It’s been a long year with lots of other prize-filled giveaways, so here’s a recap on the rules for the Sweepstakes. Whenever you shop at a locally owned business in Tillamook County between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, keep your receipts to enter into drawings for gift cards and a $1,000 grand prize. You can enter two ways: Drop your receipt off at Chamber HQ at 208 Main Ave., or send a photo of your receipt and your name to 503-389-0631. You can enter one receipt per day, every day of the Sweepstakes.
Each week, the Chamber will draw one winner from that week’s entries, and the winner will receive a gift card to a local business. This year, the weekly prizes are bigger than before, because the Chamber will match what each business donates as a prize to double the value of the gift card. Then, the entries for each week will be entered into a pool for the grand prize drawing for $1,000 in Sweepstakes Bucks.
Did I mention that you can also win more than one prize? There is no limit to how many times you can win, and each entry you make increases your odds of winning not only a weekly prize, but also the final grand prize. All the more reason to shop local and shop often!
All of the Sweepstakes winners will appear on our Facebook channel, so we recommend following the Chamber so you don’t miss any updates! We also will feature several locally owned businesses throughout the Sweepstakes to give you ideas for where to do your holiday shopping.
We also encourage shoppers to join the Chamber’s Shop Tillamook Facebook group. A lot of our local retailers are part of the group, and they often post information about sales or special deals, so you can be the first to know about a good offer! You also can use the group to share photos of the places you’re shopping or the items you’re buying — at least when they aren’t gifts! Don’t want to ruin any surprises.
And we’d be remiss not to mention our sponsor, US Bank. They’ve sponsored the Sweepstakes all five years we’ve hosted it, and they are absolutely amazing partners! We are lucky to work alongside them to promote local shopping!
The Sweepstakes officially started last Friday, Oct. 1, and our first winner will be drawn on Oct. 12. Until then, be sure to get out and shop at locally owned businesses, enter your receipts and watch for your name to be drawn for a prize!
If you have any questions about the Sweepstakes, feel free to contact the Chamber at 503-842-7525.