Grand Marais, Mich. is No.1 Town in the Reader's Digest 'We Hear You America' Contest Offering Promotional and Economic Stimulus to Towns Across the U.S.

NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The people have spoken! Grand Marais, MI is the winning town in the Reader's Digest "We Hear You America" campaign with 1,281,724 cheers, winning the First Place Municipal Prize of $40,000, and an appearance in the May issue of Reader's Digest.  

The "We Hear You America" contest, which launched on November 8 and ended on February 7, tallied some 12.5 million cheers (votes) and received more than 18,000 stories from people who logged on to rd.com. The campaign drew participation from more than 9,000 cities, towns, villages and boroughs representing nearly half of the U.S.

Following is the complete list of the 10 winning towns that will be awarded monetary prizes and appear in the May "Best of America" issue of Reader's Digest:

1. Grand Marais, MI -- Grand Prize of $40,000
2. Fairbury, IL -- Second Place Municipal Prize of $25,000
3. Genoa, NE -- Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
4. Albion, MI – Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
5. Ainsworth, NE -- Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
6. St. Johns, MI -- Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
7. Louisville, KY -- Category-based (pop. of 500,00 or more) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
8. Greensboro, NC -- Category-based (pop. of (250,000-499,999) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
9. Manchester, NH -- Category-based (pop. of 100,000-249,999) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000
10. Jacksonville, IL -- Category-based (pop. 99,999 or less) Municipal Runner-Up Prize of $10,000

"With nearly half of every town, city and village in America voting -- the response to the Reader's Digest 'We Hear You America' campaign is even greater than we could have imagined. A program like 'We Hear You America' -- which dedicated more than $5 million in promotional and financial support to communities in need -- underscores the deep connection between Reader's Digest and consumers from all across the country and, demonstrates how big, powerful brands can do well by doing the right thing for the people that support them," commented Dan Lagani, President, Reader's Digest Media. "We congratulate the winners and look forward to doing even more to capture the very Best of America in the near future."

The six-month long "We Hear You America" campaign results in 100 U.S. towns and cities benefiting from more than $5 million worth of promotion and financial support to stimulate tourism, civic works, job growth and economic development.  

As part of the "We Hear You America" campaign, Reader's Digest is in the midst of a 100 towns/100 days RV tour hosted by Supermodel and 2011 Celebrity Apprentice star Niki Taylor that launched January 18 and concludes in late May.

The 10 towns that "cheered" the loudest (received the most votes) have won the campaign prizes and will be included on the RV tour. An additional 90 towns will also be a part of the "We Hear You America" RV tour. Those towns were chosen on the following basis: 1) impassioned stories that were collected on our "We Hear You America" website via rd.com or 2) inclusion in a past or upcoming "Best of America" issue; or 3) inclusion in the Reader's Digest book Off the Beaten Path.

As previously announced, the following are the first 50 stops on the tour:

1. Tues, Jan 18 – New York, NY
2. Fri, Jan 21 – Cary, NC
3. Sat, Jan 22 – Conway, SC
4. Mon, Jan 24 – Greensboro, NC
5. Mon, Jan 24 – Asheboro, NC  
6. Tues, Jan 25 – Charlotte, NC
7. Tues, Jan 25 – Hickory, NC
8. Wed, Jan 26 – North Charleston, SC
9. Thurs, Jan 27 – Clemson, SC
10. Fri, Jan 28 – Atlanta, GA
11. Fri, Jan 28 – Duluth , GA
12. Fri, Jan 28 – Porterdale, GA
13. Sat, Jan 29 – Hinesville, GA
14. Tues, Feb 1 – Lexington, KY
15. Wed, Feb 2 – Louisville, KY
16. Thurs, Feb 3 – Cincinnati, OH
17. Fri, Feb 4 – Dayton, OH
18. Fri, Feb 4 – Rabbit Hash, KY
19. Mon, Feb 7 – St. Louis, MO
20. Tues, Feb 8 – Jacksonville, IL
21. Wed, Feb 9 – Ava, Mo
22. Thurs, Feb 10 – Branson, MO
23. Fri, Feb 11 – Little Rock, AR
24. Fri, Feb 11 – Wrightsville, AR
25. Fri, Feb 11 – East End, AR
26. Sat, Feb 12 – Murfreesboro, AR
27. Mon-Tues, Feb 14-15 – Memphis, TN
28. Wed, Feb 16 – E. Huntsville, AL
29. Thurs, Feb 17 – Helena, AL
30. Sun, Feb 20 – Daytona Beach, FL
31. Mon, Feb 21 – Deland, FL
32. Tues, Feb 22 – Orlando, FL
33. Tues, Feb 22 – Kissimmee, FL
34. Wed, Feb 23 – Tampa, FL
35. Wed, Feb 23 – Plant City, FL
36. Thurs, Feb 24 – Deland, FL
37. Thurs, Feb 24 – Zephyrhillis, FL
38. Mon, Feb 28 – Jackson, MS
39. Tues, Mar 1 – Brandon, MS
40. Wed, Mar 2 – Collins, MS
41. Thurs, Mar 3 – Flora, MS
42. Fri, Mar 4 – Belzoni, MS
43. Mon, Mar 7 – New Orleans, LA
44. Mon, Mar 7 – Gretna, LA
45. Wed, Mar 9 – Avery Island, LA
46. Fri, Mar 11 – Kenner, LA
47. Sun, Mar 13 – Smithville, TX
48. Mon, Mar 14 – Austin, TX
49. Tues, Mar 15 – Houston, TX
50. Wed, Mar 16 – Galveston, TX

The next 50 tour towns will be announced shortly.

About RDA

RDA is a global media and direct marketing company that educates, entertains and connects more than 130 million consumers around the world with products and services from trusted brands. With offices in 43 countries, the company reaches customers in 78 countries, publishes 91 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader's Digest, the world's largest-circulation magazine, operates 78 branded websites and sells 40 million books, music and video products across the world each year. Further information about the company can be found at www.rda.com.

SOURCE Reader's Digest