Judges Find Making A Decision No Roll In The Hay

Oct. 13, 2008 - PRLog -- The judges of the recent Scarecrow contest held through out the Long Beach Island Region were truly put to the test on October 9, when they were escorted from Waretown, Barnegat, Stafford, Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton and across Long Beach Island. Carefully examining each contestant, reviewing comments and sharing notes, the judges spent the better part of the day determining the business and non profit winner.
The winner for the business category is Sea Crest Village in Little Egg Harbor with their Nurse pushing her patient in a wheel chair, placed prominently in front of their business sign. The non profit winner is The Soroptimists of Long Beach Island which was displayed at Tropics Too in Long Beach Township. Their gardener scarecrow was proudly displaying Soroptimist clothing while “digging for new members” in a garden full of the fruits of the group’s labor, all labeled with their contributions to the community.

“We had an extraordinarily difficult time making a decision. So many stories were told so well and so creatively - works of art to behold. With a criteria of telling the story of the business, how does one judge an impressive display that would be at home in a department store front window against another more simple display that better tells the story of the business or organization? How do you judge a elaborate scene with commercial scarecrows against a more simple one that obviously took hours of handcrafting? How do you weigh a wonderfully creative idea against complex workmanship.” commented one of the judges. “You have a bundle of creative energy in the southern part of the county. This contest was area wide and equally on the mainland and up and down the island. It proved a business can have fun, contribute to the overall ambiance of the community and promote themselves in a very positive way.”

“All the scarecrows were terrific and the judges did have a very hard time declaring winners.” said Lori Pepenella, Destination Marketing Director “Due to the amount of entries, we spoke with the judges about presenting blue ribbons to a number of Honorable Mentions they felt deserved recognition.” The following businesses and non profits that placed under the Honorable Mention listings are: Photographic Memories, Brant Beach,
G. Anderson Agency, Haven Beach, The SandPaper, Surf City, Mud City Crab House, Manahawkin,  Oceanside Bait & Tackle, Brighton Beach, Manahawkin Shell, Jingles Bait & Tackle, North Beach Haven, Reynolds Garden Shop, Manahawkin, Beach Haven First Aid Squad Ship Bottom, Horn Tyson & Yoder, Tuckerton Seaport, and Brant Beach Homeowners Association. All organizations that entered a scarecrow for judging will receive a Scare Crow Row Certificate of Appreciation.

For a list of scarecrow sightings and updated calendar of fall events visit
Discoversouthernocean.com

# # #

Providing the business and tourism community with information regarding the The Greater Long Beach Island Region for over 90 years.
The Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce m maintains a visitors center and the region's premiere travel website.