Thursday, September 24, 2009

What the Flock?

We came home to a very unusual sight last night. It seems we had been flocked. A flock of pink Flamingos had mysteriously migrated to our yard. Ok, maybe not so mysteriously. Our new friends & backyard makeover contest winners, Joey & Heather, thought it would be a fun way to say thank you for the contest. I think they were very brave, since we will be taking over their backyard in a couple of weeks. Evidently you can flock any one in Manatee county just by calling the Palm View First Baptist Youth Group. The youth group will deliver & pick up the flock for a nominal donation of only $20. This has to be the most unique way I have ever seen for a youth group to raise money for their church. I can't think of a better way to say Happy Birthday or congratulations or in our case thank you. Of course, the person being flocked never has to know who flocked them. Flock someone you love today by calling Palm View First Baptist at 941-722-5077.

Monday, September 21, 2009

And the winner is...



Congratulations to Heather & Joey Patoray they are the winners of our $16,000 Ultimate Backyard Makeover Contest. Joey & Heather are so excited & are extremely greatful for all the votes they received during the contest. The actual makeover will take place the second week in October. Visit http://www.wqmag.com/ to see updates & photos of the work in progress. Photo courtesy of Michelle Donner Photography

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Startup Nation

We are contestants in the startupnation home based 100 competition. Please vote for us at:
http://www.startupnation.com/homebased100/contestant/7431/index.php

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Heeere's Dave

Hi everyone, this is Dave with the Backyard Getaway. This is normally not part of my job description. I leave this part to Lisa. I wanted to write today & talk a little about why I decided to host the Backyard Makeover contest.I came up with the idea of having a backyard makeover contest over a year ago after watching different programs on HGTV & DIY. Have you ever noticed that they are all in California or NY? What’s wrong with Florida? So I got to thinking, what could we do locally that would be like what you see on those home improvement programs. I didn’t want to just give away a pond. I didn’t want to copy the shows either. What I wanted was to offer something different & fun. I put the idea on the back burner until a few of months ago. What I came up with was to offer a contest to local homeowners. One where you could enter to win a makeover that was not only offered by our company but also included other local companies. We wanted to be able to show everyone that there are a lot of great local companies willing to not only stand behind their work but offer their goods & services to a project that will benefit someone in our community. All of the companies including mine are giving their services for free! You don’t see the big box stores doing that!
We were both so glad when we found Wqmag.com & they were interested in sponsoring our contest. Even though I’m not a women Wes was happy to include me on his site. Thanks, Wes. I feel that we couldn’t have found a better place to promote our contest. Ok, I’m done brown nosing.
I knew I couldn’t pick just one winner so the idea of having people vote sounded really good to me. I was also hoping that it would give people a chance to work together to pick one lucky person to win the contest. Of course I would like to win this contest myself, who wouldn’t, it‘s a great opportunity. I hope that everyone has fun with the voting process & takes the contest in the spirit it was offered. I love the positive comments. We plan to offer this contest again next year. Don’t worry we also have other ideas for giveaways that you won’t have to work so hard for. Just remember how wonderful the local companies are the next time you decide to shop online or at one of the big box stores. Don’t forget to vote everyday for your favorite ugly backyard, they can’t win if you don’t vote. http://www.wqmagonline.com/forum/topic/show?id=2298959%3ATopic%3A38179One last note: I have Kim & Amy’s shovels ready & waiting for them.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Bigger than American Idol?

Have you checked out the voting frenzy for the $16,000 Ultimate Backyard Makeover Contest going on over at www.wqmag.com? It's like our own little American Idol of ugly backyards. The 10 finalist were posted on September 3rd & the site has been abuzz ever since. People are casting their vote day & night for their favorite ugly backyard! Click on the following link to go directly to the finalist & voting page: http://www.wqmagonline.com/forum/topic/show?id=2298959%3ATopic%3A38179.

In case you haven't heard about this contest, it is hosted by Backyard Getaway & Sponsored by WQmag.com. There are over 17 local independent businesses that have donated their goods &/or services to bring this contest to homeowners in Manatee & Sarasota County. The winner will receive a water feature courtesy of Backyard Getaway, a garden shed, pavers patio, landscape lighting, hydroponic gardens, Florida friendly landscaping, a rain barrel, one of a kind garden art & more. Entries were submitted during the month of August. Voting will run through Sept. 18th & the winner wil be announced on Sept. 23rd on WQmag.com.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Congrats to our finalist

Congratulations to Gale, Tracey, Heather, Cathie, Tracy, Michelle, Derek, Lisa, Jim & Cindy our 10 finalist in the $16,000 Ultimate Backyard Makeover Contest! You get to decide which one of these lucky contestants will receive a yard makeover. Vote today at http://www.wqmagonline.com/forum/topic/show?id=2298959%3ATopic%3A38179