Kenmore Woman Wins European Trip from Bob Byers Volvo

Jan. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- (Seattle WA) – Entering a contest was the furthest thing from Shirley Rosen’s mind when she went to the Seattle Auto Show in November. She was looking for a new Volvo.

At the show, she visited the Bob Byers Volvo booth and followed up with a visit to Bob Byers Ravenna Volvo. Intent on deciding which model and color to buy, she still knew nothing about the contest offered by the local dealership, with a grand prize of a trip for two to Sweden.

Ironically, after a test drive at Ravenna, Rosen had inquired about Volvo’s Overseas Delivery program, which offers buyers the opportunity to purchase their car here and take delivery in Sweden, with round trip airfare and overnight accommodations in Gothenburg, home of the Volvo factory, among the perks.

At Ravenna Volvo, receptionist Julie Ratliff asked Rosen if she had entered the contest. She answered “no,” and then submitted her entry.  

In mid-December, her name was randomly drawn from over 600 entries.

“Originally, I thought Doug Byers (co-owner of the dealership with his sister, Sue) was calling me about buying the Volvo,” Rosen recalled. “Instead, he told me I had won the trip.”

With relatives in Sweden, it sounded like the perfect plan for Rosen and her traveling companion, daughter Teresa Rosen, who will have the chance to meet relatives from both sides of her family

Now that Shirley Rosen has won the trip, she still plans to purchase her Volvo (a red S60) here and take delivery in Sweden. The contest prize includes airfare for two along with two nights in Gothenburg, plus airfare to Stockholm and three nights’ accommodations there.  

Byers was delighted that the winner was not only considering the purchase of a Volvo, but had relatives in Sweden. “It’s very nice how well it worked out for her, we couldn’t be happier.”

Rosen has done well in contests this past year. In February, she will take a cruise to Mexico, a prize she won at the Red Dragon Casino, where she plays the card game, Spanish 21.

Shirley Rosen is a Seattle native and graduate of West Seattle High School. In addition to her daughter, she has two sons, Keith and Christopher.

She achieved some notoriety in the mid-eighties, authoring a book about her uncle, Harry Truman, who refused to leave the lodge he owned on the shores of Spirit Lake and perished in the Mt. St. Helens eruption in May of 1980.

“Truman of St. Helens: The Man & His Mountain,” was published one year after the eruption, and although now out of print, can still be found online, where reviews praise the book and its author.

Rosen is retired and enjoys playing bridge and dancing, as well as traveling, which she’ll be doing plenty of in 2012, courtesy of some very good fortune.

And at home, she’ll hopefully be traveling in style as well, in her brand new 2012 red S60 Volvo.


Bob Byers Volvo celebrated the 70 anniversary of its Ravenna location in 2011. In addition to Ravenna Volvo and downtown’s Seattle Volvo, the company has a pre-owned Volvo dealership on Lake City Way in North Seattle.

# # #

Full service advertising and public relations company. We create campaigns for consumer and business to business companies.