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Travel Media Advisory Only – Not for Publication

 CALL FOR ENTRIES: OHIO ’S HOCKING HILLS REGION

CONTINUES TRAVEL WRITING CONTEST

Logan, Ohio USA – The Hocking Hills Tourism Association announced the third annual Hocking Hills Travel Writing Contest.  A Grand Prize of $1,000 and an award will be presented to the writer who most successfully captures the spirit and beauty of the Hocking Hills area.  Second and third prize submissions will be acknowledged with $500 and $250 cash prize, respectively, as well as an award.  The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2006.

The contest invites travel journalists to submit destination features stories published in magazines, newspapers and online, or broadcast on television.  To be considered, articles must include the Hocking Hills Tourism Association phone number and website, 1-800-HOCKING and www.1800hocking.com as traveler information resources.  The contest will be juried by an independent panel of judges from professional and academic fields of journalism.  Winners will be announced in January in the

www.1800hocking.com online pressroom and will be notified by phone.

“The Hocking Hills Tourism Association Travel Writing Contest is designed to recognize excellence in travel writing that features Ohio

’s Hocking Hills region,” said Hocking Hills Tourism Association Executive Director Randie Adam.   “We respect the important role that quality travel journalism plays in the tourism industry and we want to acknowledge those journalists who have featured the Hocking Hills as part of their body of work.”

Located in southeast Ohio , the Hocking Hills region is marked by breathtaking natural scenery that features gorges, waterfalls, cliffs and forests.  Its unique lodging, hiking, canoeing, rappelling, horseback riding and other outdoor experiences are coupled with a serene setting that’s a natural for adventure, couples, romance, family and related travel journalism specialties.

To be considered, writers must be professional journalists.  Entries must be travel-related destination feature stories of no less than 850 words or broadcast stories of no less than one minute in length.  In order to be considered, articles must include the Hocking Hills Tourism Association phone number and website, 1-800-HOCKING and www.1800hocking.com as a traveler information resource.  Stories must accurately represent the Hocking Hills visitor experience and winning entries will go “beyond the ordinary” in capturing the sense of place that is unique to Ohio ’s Hocking Hills.  In order to be eligible, this year’s entries must have run between November 1, 2005 and December 1, 2006.

 Print submissions must run in publications with a circulation of more than 15,000.  Broadcast entries must run in a recognized DMA.  Entries must be published or have broadcast origination of more than forty-five miles outside of Hocking Country. 

Online submissions must come from travel-specific websites with trackable hits of more than 10,000 per month.  Complete requirements, contest rules and submission forms can be found in the online pressroom at

www.1800hocking.com or by contacting Weirick Communications, Inc. at (614) 848-8380 or amy@weirickcommunications.com. 

Entries must be submitted by mail and must be postmarked no later than December 1, 2006 .  In the event that the winning publication or writer is not permitted to accept cash prizes, the Association will make a donation to a charity or scholarship program of the writer’s/publication’s choosing, or the winner may elect to accept no cash prize.

For more information on the Hocking Hills and The Hocking Hills Tourism Association Travel Writing Contest, or to schedule a press trip, journalists may visit www.1800HOCKING.com or call Amy Weirick at (614) 848-8380 or via email at amy@weirickcommunications.com.