It took over 300,000 entries, more than 17,000 participants, 52 days, 42 trivia questions, and 5 Top Finalists to select one lucky winner of the Grand Prize – A Beach House For A Year at Seabrook!
BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO AMANDA CALHOUN FOR BEING THE SWEEPSTAKES WINNER!
As most of you witnessed on King 5 Evening Magazine last night, Amanda was the last to go up to the door and try to unlock the winning home with a random key, which luckily for her turned out to unlock the opportunity of a lifetime!
We sat down with Amanda shortly after the Grand Finale and got to know her a little better. Here is the interview with our Sweepstakes Winner!
1. How did you find out about Seabrook and have you visited here before?
I had never been to Seabrook before, this is my first time. I had seen Seabrook’s billboard on I-5 and had also heard some co-workers talking about it. I was intrigued to find out more about the place and decided to check out the website, which is where I found out about the Win a beach house contest.
2. What kind of an impression did the website give you? Is Seabrook everything you thought it would be?
I really liked your website – there were a lot of cool pictures from the town. I definitely got an impression that this is a large beach community. However, when I read online that there were beach cottages here I initially thought all the homes were small, cute cottages. When we arrived yesterday I realized that not only do you have some smaller, charming cottages, but there are also some larger and more full on beach vacation rentals. That was really impressive.
3. Did you enjoy the sweepstakes?
Oh yes, definitely. My husband and I are always looking for places to travel in Washington state, so it was a welcome surprise to learn that Grays Harbor County has so much to offer. I know of a lot of new places to visit now. The ability to earn more entries in the contest by answering the Trivia Questions was great as well. It was quite a contrast to many other contests where you just enter and forget all about it.
4. The Grand Finale must have been nerve-racking?
You know, I thought the whole process was really cool, very fair. We all picked our order randomly and picked our own keys – so fate really decided it all. I ended up going to try my key out last and felt somewhat relieved. We all had time to meet each other before the Grand Finale even begun and everyone was really nice and all of the finalists had some amazing stories. For example, one of the ladies was last here at Seabrook for her 35th wedding anniversary and from that day on, it was a very special place for her. Another lady had just had surgery on her knee and was at the final event on crutches. I actually found myself rooting for each of them every time they went up to the door ahead of me. I was nervous and almost certain that someone else will win the Grand Prize, hoping I didn’t have to go up and face the pressure.
5. What was going through your head when none of the previous finalists unlocked the door ahead of you?
There were so many things running through my mind at that time. At first I was shocked, just thinking “Oh my God I cannot believe this is happening!” Then I was worried that the key may not work for some reason, probably still in denial that I had won. When I unlocked the door I still couldn’t believe it, it felt very surreal. I’m not sure it still has sunk in, really.
6. Now that you’ve been to Seabrook and experienced it, what has impressed you the most?
The first thing I noticed here were the bikes. This really is a walk-able and bike-able community, which you rarely find anymore. It’s really cool to just ride a bike around town in the sun. There are also many places to do different things – going down to the beach, restaurants and shops, just overall there is everything that you’d need while here. It has all the amenities of a resort, but it really isn’t a resort. I took my little brother and sister to the pool yesterday and they had an absolute blast. Since Seabrook arranged for a stay for all of us last night, we were able to bring my mom and gift her a special day at the beach for Mother’s Day. It’s been a wonderful couple of days, thank you to everyone at Seabrook for making this possible!
We will be seeing a lot more of Amanda at the beach. Stay tuned to the Seabrook Blog for further coverage and summary of the 2012 Seabrook Win A Beach House For A Year Sweepstakes! Thank you all again for participating!
join us to present and educate dinner patrons on the wine pairings offered with the delicious meal from Mill 109. For more than 15 years, Bookwalter Wines have been among the best wines in Washington State and we will be the first to say that we are more than excited to try their 
Designed exclusively for the nationally renowned Coastal Living Magazine, celebrated house designers Lew Oliver & Tim Clarke collaborated to create this 3,200 s.f. Pacific NW coastal shingle-style beach escape.
We are currently reaching out to all five finalists to arrange everything necessary to participate in the Grand Prize event. Remember, you MUST be present at Seabrook on May 14, 2012 to win!
