Community Corner
Meet the Fun Finders: 'Best of the Road' Rally Team
Jim and Bonnie Parr, of St. Petersburg, are the "Fun Finders". They are one of five teams chosen to travel cross-country in search of the nation's best small towns. Gulfport is a finalist for "Best for food", the category the "Fun Finders" are judging.
The Fun Finders are bringing their taste buds to Gulfport. Gulfport is one of six finalists in the 2011 Rand McNally USA TODAY "Best of the Road" contest. Now, the judging is up to the road rally team The Fun Finders.
Jim and Bonnie Parr of St. Petersburg are expected to visit Gulfport on the 4th of July. Jim, 67, is a retired mechanic and Bonnie is a retired high school teacher. The couple perform as clowns, volunteer at local organizations and travel around the country. The team is competing for a grand prize of $10,000. The team that does the best job submitting content about their cross-country adventure wins.
The "Best of the Road" event kicked off in New York on Thursday, June 23 and will finish with a ceremony in Los Angeles on July 15, 2011. The teams will announce their choices for the best small towns in each category.
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To prepare for the big event and really show the Fun Finders that Gulfport has the best food around, 15 local restaurants have put togetherthat include small bites of their signature dishes. Sampler plates are on the menu now until June 23, 2011.
What's in it for Gulfport?
Find out what's happening in Gulfportfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The winning towns will be featured in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas and on bestoftheroad.com as well as highlighted on USA TODAY’s Travel page. Winning towns will also be announced at the 2011 DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International) conference in New Orleans on July 22, 2011.
Stay tuned for more announcements about the big event on July 4th! City officials are working on an official "Welcome" ceremony for the Fun Finders. For more information, contact Lori Rosso at 727-343-4445 or rsvp@seabreezemanor.com.
The towns for "Best for Food" include:
- Gulfport, Florida
- Addison (Webster Springs), West Virginia
- Burnsville, Minnesota
- Costa Mesa, California
- Lafayette, Louisiana
- Visalia, California
During the cross-country tour, each team will blog, tweet and document their experiences on Facebook.
According to their blog, they've already visited Addison, West Virginia.
Follow The Fun Finders:
"Rand McNally On The Road" Blog
Gulfport Resources:
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