After some recent small successes, we’re taking a shot at the eCompliments video contest offers a grand prize of $10,000 for the highest-rated video (as voted by the public) that compliments any person, place, thing, business, organization…you get the picture. As of this writing we’ve got 90 votes, behind the front-runner with well over 1,000 (how do they DO that???). You have to admit the winning video (Complimenting Strangers) is pretty clever though. These guys run a YouTube channel that has a quarter MILLION subscribers. Mediocre Films or something. And the troops (my topic) are falling less into favor these days – but hopefully not that much!. We’ve agreed to donate ALL of our winnings to a deserving military charity: The Fisher House, and thanks to some troop supporters our there on Twitter and elsewhere we have managed to scrape our way up from 28th place, to (almost) 8th! Which is a good thing, because every day that passes, another contestant is dropped from the bottom.
Some folks have reported problems in voting, but be persistent. I couldn’t register the first couple times around either (of course I voted for myself!). But I guess the registration keeps folks honest.
A bit about the video: it’s a collection of imagery I took over the course of a 6-month deployment to Afghanistan, back when things were a little safer. I wanted to solute all 42 nations’ troops, but unfortunately I was there with US Forces at the time so that’s what I got. Lately when I go to Afghanistan we don’t get out so much to get such great shots. My daughter narrates the script we put together to try and get our sentiments out in the 60 seconds we are given, and then at the end I made up the music, recording multiple tracks with a guitar – and an (!) accordion. I think it sounds kind of patriotic, borrowing from a few well-known tunes 🙂
Hopefully you have a moment to give your support. Although we have a long climb ahead of us, we’re not quite ready to give up! So if you have a moment, check out: Salute to the Troops in Afghanistan; and it only takes a couple of clicks and a confirmation on your email account to give us a vote. A vote for this video is a vote closer to $10,000 (after taxes) for Fisher House!
