Win $50 at Kushi!

[DonRocks]

Beginning today, right now, every single person who posts a new topic in our Professionals and Businesses forum will receive a chance to win my Kushi Living Social Coupon for $50! As long as you redeem this by July 15th, it will be worth the full $50; after that, it will be worth $25 through October 1, 2017. The winner will also be getting their very own Email, sent personally by me, and announcing the gifting of the Groupon. There is no cost to enter this raffle!

Offer ends Friday, June 8, at 12 noon. One entry per thread started, multiple threads per user permissible to a maximum of three, Winner will be announced by random draw by 1 PM on Friday, June 8. Offer subject to rules and restrictions, please read FAQ before posting.

Remember, initial postings in Professionals and Businesses must be:

1) Positive reviews only (friends and family is fine - you just have to disclose the relationship)
2) 100 words or more - tell us, in detail, what's so great about this person or business
3) Signed by your real first and last name

Remember also that this is our only fully-moderated forum, so when you click on "Add Post," it will go into my moderation queue, where I'll check to see if the minimum requirements have been met, and then update the indexes, before releasing it to the public eye.

Good luck to the entrants!

[DonRocks]

Thank you to both our contestants so far, LauraB (with three entries), and acgator (with one). The odds are in Laura's favor, but with almost four days left, and a maximum of three entires per member, who knows what will happen. I wish everyone could win.

Scroll up, read the rules, enter, and you'll also have a pretty good chance of winning the $50 coupon to Kushi.

Do you have any friends or family members whose work you believe in? Well, what better chance than *right now* to tell the world about them?

I may write one as well, but I'll remove myself from the prize drawing.

[DonRocks]

I'm looking for a volunteer who doesn't know acgator (1 entry), LauraB (3 entries), porcupine (1 entry), or ChiantiandFava (1 entry) to perform the random-number generation tomorrow afternoon to determine the winner.

A special note of thanks to RWBooneJr who entered three times, but is recusing himself from the prize selection due to his position here (ethics - it's not (quite) dead).

There's still time to enter - the deadline is 12 noon tomorrow, but that's the way the entries stand for now. Whoever wins, I'll gift the $50 Kushi coupon via email into their name - I wish everyone who took the time to write posts could win.

Any volunteers? We'll work out a double system where two people (me, and someone else) team up to pull a random number out of a virtual hat.

On a related note, the Professionals and Businesses forum has reached critical mass, and is truly a useful resource for finding out about non-restaurant businesses (watch out, Angie's List!). I am more excited about this forum than any other (with the exception of all the others), and feel that the future of (the restaurant portion of) this website remaining free and viable may just be here. I *love* this forum, and check it whenever I need a product or service.

Thank you to everyone who has entered this contest,

Rocks

[porcupine]

Weird, I don't actually see my post in the Professionals forum. Also, as Japanese food is not my favorite (though maybe if I ate at Kushi that would change?), I don't mind if you take my name out of the drawing. I didn't post in order to win.

[DonRocks]

Weird, I don't actually see my post in the Professionals forum. Also, as Japanese food is not my favorite (though maybe if I ate at Kushi that would change?), I don't mind if you take my name out of the drawing. I didn't post in order to win.

There are a couple I haven't approved yet (but I will, I just haven't gotten around to it).

[LauraB]

I didn't post in order to win.

You know, I didn't post in order to win either. Although, I do love Japanese food. It was sort of a coincidence that I posted after Don announced the contest. I was motivated last Friday when I walked out of Quality Discount Tire & Auto and realized I had just had a second stellar experience with that company and wanted to share it with a larger community. After posting that, I realized that there were a couple of other places that I thought very highly of and hadn't yet posted about them in the DR thread. I am very appreciative of the many other recommendations made and may have found a new doctor in DC thanks to this thread.

[DonRocks]

Although I do appreciate the selflessness, you're both going to be entered (this is not a big deal).

[DonRocks]

I'm looking for a volunteer who doesn't know acgator (1 entry), LauraB (3 entries), porcupine (1 entry), or ChiantiandFava (1 entry) to perform the random-number generation tomorrow afternoon to determine the winner.

And? And??

[JimRice]

And? And??

I can do it if you need me to.

[DonRocks]

Okay! Contest is over, and we have 6 entries as noted above (LauraB actually submitted a 4th post - thanks Laura, and thanks again Rich). Note, there are still a couple posts I have to approve, but that's all a technicality (I have to make sure names are signed, titles and tags are optimized, indexes are updated, etc., before approving them) - they're fine.

Jim, could you run randomnumbergenerator.com using a number 1-6, and post the winning number?

I just PM'd a list of numbers/names to LauraB. Laura, as soon as Jim posts the winning number, go ahead and post the list (or I can do it). The winning number will get the gift certificate to Kushi.

(And I have another one of these for next week, although not to Kushi, so we can do it again starting Monday. In fact, if we're going to get *this* level of response, I'm going to keep doing this on an ongoing basis, so don't despair if you don't win this time around.)

----

Let me say again: if you have a friend or family member you believe in, or someone who gave you great service or value, just write a 100-word review and sign your real name. Google any of these, and they almost all come up on page one. William Lessne, for example. Hell, Google Hilleary Rockwell. Contest aside, it's a great way to give a business you believe in long-term support where it counts the most (the pocketbook) without costing you a dime.

I believe this might be the future of the website, and a way to keep the restaurants section chugging along free of charge to the public. I'm not sure *how* yet, but I'm just keeping my head down and marching forward. I really think I've found a way to take this website national without me having to be a "restaurant expert" in every single city.

[JimRice]

The number is 3.

[LauraB]

As Don requested, I am posting the list of numbers assigned to all entrants in the contest. Congratulations to ChiantiandFava! Enjoy your meal at Kushi!

1. LauraB

2. porcupine

3. ChiantiandFava

4. LauraB

5. acgator

6. LauraB

(I'm kind of relieved I didn't win -- it would have been kind of weird announcing myself as the winner! And just a bit fishy.)

[DonRocks]

Sorry to everyone who didn't win, but take solace that ChiantiandFava's post is a kindly tribute written about Frager's Hardware.

(I'm kind of relieved I didn't win -- it would have been kind of weird announcing myself as the winner! And just a bit fishy.)

Speaking of "a bit fishy," our next contest (starting right now, and Laura your lengthy and thoughtful (and still-to-be approved) post about Kingsbrook Animal Hospital (which you wrote yesterday, and was your 4th entry) is hereby declared to be entry #1 in the new contest - an expired $80 Omakase coupon at Sushi Taro which is now worth $40 (i.e., you get $40 off any omakase at Sushi Taro - this particular contest is highly recommended for the solo diner).

Hmm, wait a minute, do I want to use this myself? Nah, screw it; I had my chance, and blew it.

The previous sentence was a rhyming couplet.

I'll announce the new contest in a new post, but we'll make the deadline a week from today, Friday, June 14th, at noon.

Thanks for playing, and I look forward to making people's dining experiences a little less expensive, and a lot more fishy.