To Launch Its New Military Facebook Page, Ashworth College Takes on the Military Movies with 'Battle of the Best' Sweepstakes

Military Personnel, Military Spouses, Veterans vote for chance to win $500 Exchange Gift Card

NORCROSS, Ga., March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To announce its new Facebook page dedicated to military personnel, military spouses, veterans, and military supporters  Ashworth College (http://www.ashworthcollege.edu) will unveil its new Battle of the Best Sweepstakes Facebook application, the online college's first social media-based contest via the Ashworth Military Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/ashworthcollegemilitary).

Beginning March 21, active duty, veterans, military spouses and dependants, and military supporters will be invited to become fans of Ashworth's new military-focused Facebook page. And for those fans with direct military ties, they will be among the first eligible to win a $500 Exchange Gift Certificate by participating in the Ashworth College Battle of the Best Sweepstakes.

Starting with the Battle of the Best Military Movie Sweepstakes, Ashworth will sponsor monthly contests around various military themes. Fans will be able vote for their favorites via the Ashworth Military Facebook page. Fans will also be able to invite other military friends and family members to participate.

"This is Ashworth's most ambitious social media-based promotion to date because it invites U.S. service members, veterans, and spouses to join our new Military Facebook page and to participate in our monthly sweepstakes," said Rodney Butler, U.S. Army First Sergeant, Retired and Ashworth College Military Education Coordinator. "We encourage anyone with an appreciation for the men and women who have dedicated their lives to the U.S. military to become a fan. The $500 prize is Ashworth's way showing its appreciation to those who serve our country, in particular to our many students and alumni who are active duty, veterans or military spouses."

To be eligible for the random drawing of a $500 Exchange gift certificate, participants must be U.S. active duty, veteran or a military dependant who is 18 years of age or older. They must become a fan of Ashworth's Facebook Military page, vote for their favorite military movie and enter the sweepstakes. The initial contest will runs through Saturday, April 21. Winners will be notified within 10 days after the end of the contest period.

Ashworth College already has made an impact through its Facebook presence, attracting more than 13,000 fans to its main page. The decision to create a sister page was to better provide targeted content to its growing military student base. The contest, which was conceptualized by Ashworth and created for Facebook by digital promotion specialists Wildfire Interactive, Inc., uses social media and interactive elements.

About Ashworth College

Ashworth College is a Servicemember Opportunity Colleges Consortium (SOC) member school, accepts ACE credits and is approved for a range of other military benefits including Post 9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, GoArmyEd, and MyCAA. Ashworth has also been recognized as a 2011 Military Friendly School by Military Advanced Education magazine and actively supports its Student Veteran's Association campus chapter.

As a leader in online education, Ashworth College has built a tradition of excellence spanning 25 years, offering students worldwide more than 115 online college degrees, online career certificates, online career training and high school online diplomas that are affordable and fit the busy schedules of working adults. Ashworth offers military education online as well as specialized programs for corporate partners and homeschoolers.

Headquartered in Norcross, GA, Ashworth is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). The Accrediting Commission of the DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency. James Madison High School is further accredited regionally by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). SACS CASI is an accreditation division of AdvancED. For more information, visit http://www.ashworthcollege.edu.

About Wildfire Interactive, Inc.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Wildfire Interactive, Inc. is a privately-held technology company specialized in developing simple tools that enable organizations to engage the hundreds of millions of users of social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Its patent-pending technology allows corporations, small businesses, marketing agencies, bloggers and non-profits to easily create their own attractive, branded interactive campaigns (e.g. sweepstakes, contests, giveaways, incentive-based surveys etc) and to simultaneously publish them in multiple social networks and on their website. Intuitive, streamlined and affordable, our software is simple enough for even the least tech-savvy business manager to use, and flexible enough to suit the needs of the most creative marketer or advertising agency.

SOURCE Ashworth College