Business & Tech
Ice Cream Emperor Vies for Airline Crown
Neal Gottlieb of Three Twins Ice Cream is one of five finalists in the American Airlines "Road Warrior" contest—and everyone who casts a vote is eligible to win 100,000 airline miles.
Neal Gottlieb, founder/owner/proprietor of , is in the running to win a prestigious 10-year-old competition hosted by American Airlines.
Voting is open online through the end of the month for the air carrier's "American Way Road Warrior Contest," in which Gottlieb is one of five finalists chosen from more than 3,000 entries.
To reach the final five, contestants had to complete five written "challenges," including one that asked their top 10 "reasons American Airlines makes your life better."
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Gottlieb's number-one reason?
"My typical checked luggage, a bulky cooler of Three Twins Ice Cream, has always arrived firmly frozen," he wrote.
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Among the 10 reasons he should win the contest, Gottlieb listed
Reason 1: Although only 34, I have flown to dozens of destinations on American Airlines, checked cooler or ice cream in tow, while building my ice cream company from one shop to a national brand and have 1.9 million “Program to Date Miles” to show for it.
Reason 4: One of my more ridiculous trips on American Airlines as of late involved flying to Connecticut to pick up an ice cream truck that I then drove back to California in 93 fun-filled hours.
Reason 5: Another ridiculous trip on American Airlines involved delivering 100 pints of my ice cream to a billionaire on the East Coast who had paid $3,333.33 for them through my website. I can’t wait to see where I fly to deliver the next 100 pints.
The airline isn't being too specific about what the winner receives, describing the payoff as "big prizes, a fancy photo shoot, starring on the cover of American Way (in-flight magazine) and all the fame that comes along with such an honor."
To read all of Gottlieb's contest entry, along with the other four entries, visit http://hub.aa.com/en/finalists?zonemode=topnav3xsubnav1.
Online voters in the contest are automatically entered to win 100,000 American Airlines miles, according to the website. The winner of that drawing will be notified in February, but the winning Road Warrior won't be announced until March.
Three Twins Ice Cream has scoop shops in Napa, San Francisco and San Rafael with a planned fourth location in Larkspur. The ice cream factory is in Petaluma.
