[Niiinioa]

That suburb is butt up against me on the east. I just read about this earlier.

WTG, mom. You hag.

[dolaBeetCeage]

Well, sure. Even it wasn't, it would be Texas' fault anyway. Haven't you learned that yet?

[Voliscietle]

big state, big lies

come out to kalifornia and here some real winners

[UFJon]

[Borzopayn]

They did.

[ROYMANgo]

It wasn't stipulated, it doesn't appear. They still took it away.
I think the mother is an idiot.


Garland girl with fake contest entry won't get to see Hannah Montana after all

Prize to see pop star in concert pulled

09:07 PM CST on Saturday, December 29, 2007


By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
tdhobbs@dallasnews.com


A 6-year-old Garland girl whose winning entry in a Hannah Montana essay contest was found to be false won't collect the prize of seeing the singer in concert after all.


Mary Drolet, chief executive officer of Club Libby Lu, the company aimed at "tween" girls that sponsored the contest, announced Saturday that the prize was being withdrawn. The announcement came a day after a Club Libby Lu spokeswoman initially said the company would honor the prize even though the girl's father was not a soldier and did not die in Iraq, as the essay said.

The prize for winning the Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest included airfare for four to Albany, N.Y., and four tickets to the sold-out Jan. 9 Hannah Montana concert there. The girl also was treated to a makeover, complete with blond wig, on Friday at the Club Libby Lu store at Garland's Firewheel Town Center.

Asked why the prize was withdrawn, spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield referred to a prepared statement from Ms. Drolet. The statement said the company had wanted to take ample time to gather facts and make an "appropriate decision" on whether to award the concert tickets and other prizes to the family. It said the company had learned the essay was false after awarding the grand prize.

"We value honesty and integrity, and in order to uphold those values, we have made the decision we have made," Ms. Caulfield said, referencing Ms. Drolet's statement.

The girl's mother, Priscilla Ceballos, refused to comment at the store Friday or when reached at home Saturday. A woman who answered the phone at Ms. Ceballos' home referred calls to an attorney but did not provide contact information.

Late Friday, however, Ms. Ceballos said by telephone that she had done nothing wrong.

"We wrote whatever we could to win," she said. "It said to write an essay. It never said it had to be true. I never said it was true. ... It was just an essay. We wrote whatever we could to win."

Ms. Caulfield has said that Ms. Ceballos told company officials that the girl's father was Army Sgt. Jonathon Menjivar and that he had died in a roadside bombing April 17 in Iraq. The essay started, "My daddy died this year in Iraq."

However, no soldier by that name died on that or any other day in Iraq, according to Defense Department records. And the Army has no record of a Jonathon Menjivar now serving.

Ms. Caulfield has said that the essay, which included no details about the father or his death, was taken at face value and that no background checks were performed. On Saturday, she refused to answer questions about whether the company would screen entries in future contests.

The company will award the concert trip to another girl, according to Ms. Drolet's statement. The name of the new winner is being withheld to maintain the family's privacy, the statement said.

[Stivenslivakovishhhs]

Bottom line is that a little girl is losing out. Big deal for a little girl, this Hannah Montana thing.

[Unlopssesuj]

Originally posted by Wezil
[q]
The girl won a makeover that included a blonde Hannah Montana wig, as well as the grand prize: airfare for four to Albany, N.Y., and four tickets to the sold-out concert on Jan. 9. To Albany? The family should consider itself blessed that they took away the tickets.

[preptarra]

Originally posted by Wezil
"lying"? From the word Lie. Meaning a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood or something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture.

[Pjayjukr]

Oh, for Pete's sake. The girl is 6 she's not going to write such a fictional essay without parental goading. This is a clear cut case of parental deception.

[Alexeryy]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Was this a fiction writing contest, Wezil? I think that is my point DD. Apparently nothing in the rules states it had to be a true story. If they wanted only true real life stories they should have said so.

They awarded the kid the prize b/c they judged it the "best" story (or so they said, the actual reason was something else I'm sure but I'll try to avoid threadjacking my own thread...) and then they took the prize away when they learned it wasn't a true story, which to me appears to be changing the rules after the fact.

edit - If the rules had stated it must be a true story I would agree wholeheartedly with your use of the word "lie".

[Butiqueso]

Originally posted by Wezil
They awarded the kid the prize b/c they judged it the "best" story Because they thought the story was true and then they took the prize away when they learned it wasn't a true story, which to be enforcing the intent of the contest. Otherwise why would anyone get thier panties in a knot of the lieing ***** of a mom.

Edit:

Contest organizer responds:
I wanted you to have the following information, which we published in multiple places during the Club Libby Lu Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest.

Following is verbatim the description of the Club Libby Lu Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest:

"We want to hear how you're going to ROCK someone else's holiday. Maybe it's Mom, your best friend, or maybe it's someone you don't even know! It's easy: just write (no more than 5 sentences) and send it to us. Maybe you are donating a coat (sorry sis) or maybe you are making breakfast in bed for your Mom (maybe next year Dad!); whatever it is tell us all about it."

Here is the legal language: "No purchase necessary to win. You must be between the ages of 6 and 13 by 11/22/07. Club Libby Lu cannot accept any entries from individuals under the age of 18 without consent from parent or legal guardian. You must be able to attend the concert on 1/9/08 to be eligible. Grand prize consists of four round-trip coach class air travel on airline of CLL's choice from major airport nearest winner's residence to Albany, NY, on 1/9/08 and returning 1/10/08; 2 days, 1 night hotel accommodations. Winner and at least one parent/legal guardian of winner must attend a Public Relations event scheduled during the trip in NY. Winner and guest must travel together. All travelers must execute a Release of Liability and a Publicity Release prior to ticketing. Travel arrangements and accommodations are at the discretion of the Sponsor. Trip value may vary depending on point of departure and airfare fluctuations. Approximate retail value of Grand Prize is $3,000. Other great prizes will be awarded. Winners are solely responsible for paying all applicable federal, state, local taxes and all other expenses with the acceptance and/or use of prizes. For complete details including entry information and judging criteria, send a self addressed stamped envelope to Club Libby Lu Attn: Hannah Montana Official Rules, 2700 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612." Now, it doesn't say non-fiction, but I think there's no disputing the intent...

[joanasevilyboaz]

Yes, that's DinoDoc's job!

[Elisabetxxx]

How in the world did "My Daddy died in Iraq this year" win an award for how that girl was going to "ROCK" someone else's holiday in the first place?

[yWleIJm4]

Yeah, but the essay was how SHE was going to "rock" someone's holiday.

[lidersontop]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Because they thought the story was true and then they took the prize away when they learned it wasn't a true story, which to be enforcing the intent of the contest. Otherwise why would anyone get thier panties in a knot of the lieing ***** of a mom. Absolutely NOTHING in your posted rules says anything of the sort. That is your presumption.

MrFun - Perhaps but I think the contest was poorly thought out, poorly run, and at the end of the day the company was skewered by their own patriotism. I suspect there will be a cash payout to this family before the dust settles as they broke no rules.

[tropicana]

Originally posted by Wezil
I suspect there will be a cash payout to this family before the dust settles as they broke no rules.

[Konservir]

Yep.

[Piediahef]

It won't go to a Jury DD. This will be settled.

edit - btw, Where is the evidence of this "intent" you speak of? Or were the entrants supposed to read minds to know the intent...?

[Sttim]

There's that intent again...