Road Warrior Grand Prize Winner Donates His Winnings to Help Others
American Way Magazine Contest Resulted In Nearly 7,000 Expert Entries
FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the sixth year, American Way, the inflight magazine of American Airlines, sought to answer the big question: What does it take to be a true Road Warrior? The magazine offered readers the opportunity to divulge their travel expertise with a chance to win the Grand Prize, which included 2 million Hilton HHonors(R) bonus points and 1 million American Airlines AAdvantage(R) miles, by entering their best travel photos, writing clever haikus, and answering multiple choice questions, all for the title of "Road Warrior."
Nearly 7,000 readers responded, providing insights about life on the road. The Jan. 15, 2008, issue of American Way (
http://www.americanwaymag.com/) features the five winners, plus intriguing contest photos, travel advice, and more in this ultimate guidebook for Road Warriors.
But the big story from the 2007 contest is the Grand Prize winner, Kaye Wilkins, M.D. of San Antonio, Texas. He is an orthopedic surgeon who has donated all of his newly awarded 2 million Hilton HHonors(R) bonus points and 1 million American Airlines AAdvantage(R) miles to the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America (POSNA). POSNA will use the miles and points for airline travel and hotel stays for physicians worldwide to come to the United States to attend medical training seminars.
"I felt that the use of these miles and points could help many doctors come to the United States for training and that, ultimately, people in underdeveloped countries will get the medical help they need. POSNA can get so much more out of this fabulous prize than I ever could for my own personal use," said Dr. Wilkins.
"The Road Warrior issue is always the hardest but most rewarding issue we do. And this year it has been especially rewarding seeing the satisfaction Dr. Wilkins has had in donating his prize to such a great organization. Being a 'Road Warrior' is more than just miles flown; it's the experiences that precede and follow it," said American Way Editor Sherri Burns.
A Second Prize winner, Jack Jensen of Oak Brook, Ill., and three Third Prize winners, Brad Dupray of Corona, Calif., Chris Newberry of Dallas, Texas, and Tracey McCormack of Los Angeles, Calif., round out the five Road Warrior winners.
Contestants were eligible to win 2 million Hilton HHonors(R) bonus points to use at any Hilton family hotel in the world, as well as 1 million American Airlines AAdvantage(R) miles. Other prizes included a Bose(R) Lifestyle(R) 48 home entertainment system, a SoundDock(R) digital music system, a pair of QuietComfort(R) 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling(R) headphones, Panasonic Toughbook(R) W5 laptop computers, vacations to Los Cabos and Cancun from AAVacations, and one-and-two year Admirals Club(R) memberships.
More than 50,000 top-tier American Airlines customers have participated in the Road Warrior contests since 2001. Feel like you have what it takes to be considered a bona fide road warrior, but missed out? Check out American Way magazine or visit
http://www.americanwaymag.com/ this summer for information about the next contest.
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