Judges Select Top 50 Semi-Finalists in Cub Cadet 'Future Vision Contest'

CLEVELAND, May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With its 50th celebration well under way, Cub Cadet is excited to announce the next phase of its Future Vision Contest – the Cast Your Vote Sweepstakes, which will be accessible at www.CubCadet.com/FutureVision  between May 1 and June 16, 2011.  The voting site will feature winning ideas from 50 semi-finalists, which have been hand-picked by an expert panel of judges including representatives of Cub Cadet, the University of Akron, Hearst Magazines' Popular Mechanics and an award-winning member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).  The 50 semi-finalist ideas are themselves examples that reflect and celebrate Cub Cadet's impressive history and future vision of innovation and progressive thinking.

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"So far the contest has been an exciting success receiving more than 2,000 entries and generating a lot of attention, interaction and thought stimulation," said Jeff Salamon, Cub Cadet director of brand marketing. "Thanks to the help of our expert panel who have put in more hours than expected, we've been able to narrow that massive list down to 50 quality entries. Now it's up to the voting public. The outcome of these entries is now in the hands of our fans.  We're excited to watch as the public helps us select the five top visionaries and grand prize winners in our Future Vision Cast Your Vote Sweepstakes."

To tackle the more than 2,000 entries, Cub Cadet enlisted some of today's top innovative thinkers. Included in that group is Popular Mechanics contributor, Mark Clement, award-winning industrial designer, Harry Allen and University of Akron Professor, William E. Baker. Alongside Cub's own Jeff Kucera and Jeff Salamon, the panel of judges sorted through hundreds of entries to pull out the best and brightest work. Eventually, 50 semi-finalists were chosen to receive cash prizes of $500 each and a chance to be named one of five top visionaries and grand prize winners.

And now, with the semi-finalists in, it's time for the fun to begin. To determine the winners Cub Cadet is now asking fans to take the reins in the selection process in a six-week Future Vision Cast Your Vote Sweepstakes. In addition to helping choose the five grand prize winners, those taking part in the online voting will also be simultaneously entered for a chance to win one of six weekly prizes. Each week, one lucky voter will be awarded a cash prize of $500, which will be announced on Cub Cadet's Facebook and Twitter pages.

When the dust has cleared and the final vote is cast, Cub Cadet will reward each of the five top visionaries and grand prize winners with a cash prize of $5,000 and coverage of their entry will appear in the October issue of Popular Mechanics. The winning entries will also be featured on Cub Cadet's Facebook and Twitter pages and mentioned on www.CubCadet.com.

For more information on the Cub Cadet Future Vision Contest or to vote on the semi-finalists, visit www.CubCadet.com/FutureVision between May 1 and June 16, 2011. Also, be sure to become a fan of Cub Cadet on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for the announcement of each weekly winner.

About Cub Cadet

A leader in the outdoor power equipment industry, Cub Cadet has been engineering innovative, premium quality products for more than 50 years.  Through a dedicated and extensive network of dealers and retailers, Cub Cadet delivers a full line of high performance equipment and services that cover all aspects of grounds care for professional and residential customers – including innovative all wheel steer, zero turn riders; application equipment; utility vehicles; lawn and garden tractors, lithium ion- and gasoline-powered handheld and chore products, snow throwers and more.  Based in the U.S., the Cub Cadet brand is globally-recognized for its legacy in engineering excellence and its progressive dedication to exceeding owner expectations with better products, a better experience and better results.  For more information on all Cub Cadet products, visit www.CubCadet.com.

SOURCE Cub Cadet