Dear Friends of Redwood Creek & the Greater Outdoors Project,
This week we have a new organization in the lead. We have less than a week less to vote, so keep them coming!
Current rank (as of 5/26 at midnight PST):
- Friends of New Orleans City Park 14,112 votes
- Arizona Trail Association 13,515 votes
- WildEarth Guardians 5,082 votes
- Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey 4,066 votes
- National Forest Foundation 2,820 votes
We are inching closer and closer to the end of voting, so make sure you keep your votes coming! Vote for who you think should bring home the grant by heading on over here once per day and cast your vote online or via SMS.
Remember: you can vote online once per 24 hours with voting reset at midnight EST. You can also vote via SMS once per 24 hours, however voting by SMS resets 24 hours from when you cast your vote. For all the rules, SMS costs and restrictions, etc. head over here.
Thank you all for your votes. We appreciate you taking the time to weigh in.
Winemaker Cal
Comments
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I have tried many different days to access the voting and it won't accept the vote. It has been very frustrating. I am trying to vote for the Arizona Trail.
I've been voting once (and sometimes twice with SMS) every day since the beginning. I see that my vote of choice (AZT) is down by 1,000 votes. Argh!
I've been voting twice, almost every day, I guess slow and steady doesn't always win the race, but that can still change . . . yeah Arizona Trail! Come on AZ, we can do it!
I thought voting was only once a day.
I have also tried to vote for AZ trail and have not been able to .....very frustrating. PG
I'm so glad to see City Park in the lead. The arboretum was basically destroyed in 2005 and the park is in despatate need of any philanthropic assistance that it can get. Thank you Redwood Creek.
If this site was easier to navagate for voting, it sure would help. Many people that would like to vote, probably are not because they have to register and subject themselves to more spam from websites. I suppose that is the whole point for Redwood Creek, but it really does effect the outcome.
Thank you all for your feedback!
If any of you are still having problems voting, please shoot us an email and we will resolve those issues for you. Or if you have additional feedback please email: greateroutdoorsproject@blazethetrail.com.
As far as "spam" is concerned, I can assure you that we require all of that information to ensure voting is done as fairly as possible and to make it easier to login to vote repeatedly, rather than have to fill out the form each time.
Thank you for your support of the Greater Outdoors Project, of all of these organizations, and of Redwood Creek! We wish everyone the best of luck.
Allie- voting is once per day for SMS and once per day for web.
Mabrandt - I see that you voted successfully online yesterday and today, so I am hoping your voting issues are resolved? Please feel free to reach out (greateroutdoorsproject@blazethetrail.com) if you have any voting questions or difficulties!
Come on New Orleans lovers!!! Please continue the slow but steady climb to the top so our beautiful park will get the financial help it really needs.It's almost 4 yrs since Katrina & some parts of the park are still in need of alot of help.Thank you Redwood Creek if we win or not but we really want to win!
I've voted almost every day and have received NO spam. Even if I got a couple pieces of spam, it would be worth it especially after a few sips of your 2007 Pinot Noir. What a wonderfull wine!
Thanks, NO City Park really needs your generous contribution!
Ron Lavie
Arizonans and AZ Trail enthusiasts, if you haven't learned to text yet, now's the time! Or teach someone to text...it's a life skill they'll find handy for years to come.
Keep Trying!! We desperately need EVERYONE to keep voting. The AZ Trails benefits EVERYONE in the country and our foreign visitors, as well, so we must "run like mad to the deadline"!! NBOW
Keep trying - email for HELP - we need all the votes we can get now!!!!! Thanks NBOW
No spam here and I've found a new site and a new wine. I can't imagine a better way to grow a website or a market base than to donate a substantial sum of money to a worthy cause. I'm sure all five finalists represent worthy causes and this effort has brought public attention to other areas that need support to those who were otherwise unaware. Well done, Redwood Creek, and GO City Park!!!
Although I'm supporting NOLA City Park in this effort, I have checked the web sites of the other finalists and appreciate all the hard work and efforts undertaken by caring people everywhere.
I'd hate to see the money wasted on a Park in New Orleans that might get devastated by another hurricane in the future.....I'm all for CWF, but now I'm voting for AZ trail!!!
@fourrunnin
i could just as easily say i'd hate for the money to be wasted on AZ that could be devastated by wildfire any time of the year... all of the places here are susceptible to disasters
i would think people voting for this great cause would be a little more compassionate and knowledgeable than your comment...
Fourrunnin's opinion isn't representative of most Az Trail enthusiasts, I believe. All of these GOP projects have great merit!
I have voted on-line almost every day for the last month (since I heard of this contest), but I cannot vote by texting. I put in the # and get an error message. I put the phone # as the # given, text "
park" and then get an invalid # message. T-Mobile customer if that makes a difference.
City Park will help more people and hurt the environment less than the AZ trail. People going to the AZ Trail will drive many miles to get to it. Many do bike or walk to City Park, I take the streetcar (perhaps 3% of teh carbon emissions of driving those few miles).
City Park is wonderful and it too can benefit the entire country,just take yourself there! so much diversification there,truly something for everyone.
City Park is for everyone,it doesn't matter where you live.Let's keep the comments positive & let's keep the votes coming for New Orleans City Park. This gorgeous park is one of the many gems that New Orleans contains;for those of you who don't know...it's not just a neighborhood park with a swing set.It's full of history,art,culture,food,StoryLand,sports&families.The Beatles played in the old football stadium when they came to N.O. in the mid 60s.I think that matters but not the reason City Park should win;it should win because it's worthy & very loved.Thanks Redwood Creek for the chance to have others learn about this beautiful place.
Thank you Redwood Creek for giving New Orleans City Park, a premier park in the center of New Orleans, this opportunity. The park is not only for locals but for the millions of tourists that visit each year. But, it needs help! New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in the country and the park has been around for over 100years and will be for another with your help and the help of its many volunteers. Please vote for City Park!
Thanks for your less than insightful post. All of these natural environments deserve help. Having been involved with all of them I can personally attest to that. I wonder how many you have worked with as it must be difficult to walk with your head up your butt. All of these environments are increasingly susceptible to natural disasters. Remember though the devestation brought on by Hurricane Katrina was only triggered by a natural disaster. The man-made levees that broke and flooded our great city caused the damage that many volunteers work long hours to repair. This gift of philanthropy again is deserving on any one of these projects , yet I think a greater number of people and the greater good will be served with a victory for City Park. I pray that nothing like the events of Katrina ever darken your elitist doorway.
Thank you Redwood Creek for your generous donation through the greater outdoor project. Your website is top notch and I look forward to seeing the outcome of this competition.
Why is it that I am no longer able to vote for the Arizona Trail. The website is no longer accepting my vote, even though it is not yet the 31st. It appears to me that this is an unfair contest, if you are no longer accepting votes before the deadlinel.
Has anyone else noticed? The online voting system is fraud-prone - I've been informed that one can enter a nonexistent email address and erroneous contact info and still have their vote counted. In other words, anyone can vote as many times per day as they like, which is in direct violation of the sponsor's very own stated rules (from their website: "Remember: you can vote online once per 24 hours with voting reset at midnight EST.")
Ergo, the Arizona Trail could win the contest legitimately, or the Friends of New Orleans City Park could win illegitimately - or vice versa - and we'd never know. Only the contest sponsor could determine this by verifying and then throwing out bogus votes, and this would inevitably be a non-transparent process. So ultimately the only honorable thing for the sponsor to do is to split the $50k equally among the finalists.
I would encourage those who have been voting - those who have played fairly and who have a stake in the outcome - to air their concerns directly with the sponsor, Redwood Creek Wines. They may be reached by phone at (866) 221-8571 or you can fill out a form online at http://www.redwoodcreek.com/contact/
ginnydurham - we have a confirmed vote for you today 5/29 on the web. I'm not sure what error message you are getting? But your vote is accepted & counted for. Please email me the error message (greateroutdoorsproject@blazethetrail.com) if you have any further problems.
I'm just doing what the instructions say & haven't had any trouble voting for the Friends of City Park.I only vote on-line once a day.Why would anyone take the time to figure out a way to cheat when this is all for a good cause?! Do the cheaters ,if they do exist,realize that's stealing? Everyday this world we live in disappoints & shocks me a bit ;it doesn't have to be like this...really,it doesn't. I'm sure Redwood Creek has put alot of time & energy into their contests to prevent what some may be doing&we thank you!Have other contests turned a bit ugly?Let's keep those City Park votes coming!
The problem is that Redwood Creek's website software PERMITS illegitimate voting. The onus is entirely on them for having allowed this to occur throughout the voting period, and for de-legitimizing the contest in the process. The results, the running tallies, and the ultimate outcome of the contest are therefore rendered meaningless. There can be no winners unless everyone wins.
JQPublic, how would you know a person can cheat unless you tried? Why are you turning this into a blood contest. I suspect most people here are upstanding citizens and voting with integrity. I am supporting NOLA City Park, but may the most enthusiastic supporters win.
JQPublic - Get a grip! This is supposed to be fun.
Could the voting have been made easier? Probably. But I'm not paying any of the cost for the contest so my opinion doesn't count for much. "They who have the gold make the rules".
Thanks to Redwood Wines for generously donating $50,000 to a worthy project and running the entire contest.
I'm supporting New Orleans City Park but if AZ Trails wins, good for them. It still will have been fun and the money will still go to a worthy project.
The ultimate irony - I'm a beer drinker.
To Fourrunnin: I don't believe comments like yours are welcomed on a site that is obviously trying to create some positive energy in a world where people write, say and do horrible things as your comment clearly proves. While I would prefer that City Park in New Orleans win this tremendous award enabling our park (which is larger than Central Park in NYC) to once again be enjoyed like it was before Hurricane Katrina and the negligence of the Army Corps of Engineers devastated it and 80% of our historic and wonderful city nearly 4 years ago, I would certainly not "hate it" if one of the other 4 worthy and deserving entries were to win instead. Shame on you for making such a comment!! I only pray that you and your family never know the pain and anguish suffered by so many, many people in New Orleans, whether it come from a natural disaster or the incompetence of the Army Corps of Engineers in which you placed your trust and the lives of your family.
On a more positive note, I plan to buy several bottles of Redwood Creek wine this weekend and celebrate the generosity and good will that still exists in this world. May there be more of it and found in more places in the years to come!!! :-)
Seems like rebuilding an urban park merits support somewhat more than a piece of trail that will be used by those who probably have themeans to pay for it themselves!
I, too, would like to thank Redwood Creek for this lovely opportunity. Though I'm a native New Orleanian and am supporting City Park, I wish all the projects good luck. I'm watching the local news and just saw a piece on this way to support City Park so, hopefully, we'll gain some more voters on this last two days. Thanks to all for speaking up for our fine city after the negative comment was made. I wish you all good luck. It's very painful if you went through Katrina when you read such comments and it warmed my heart that so many of you came to our city's defense. We truly hope no American ever has to experience the devastation our city and our people went through. Again, thanks to all of you and Redwood Creek, too.
I'm sure that each project is very important to those who have spent countless hours, not to mention money out of their own pockets, to ensure its successful completion. To dismiss another project, just because it's not the one you'd choose to spend the money on, is not in the spirit of this contest. A $50,000 grant would go far, but it may be the power of this contest to unite the community in support of each of our pet projects that is the real prize here. Please keep that in mind, and support your project and the great outdoors as a whole. Redwood Creek would not have these projects in the running if they were a waste of time or money.
The Arizona Trail, conceived about 25 years ago, which runs from Mexico to Utah, can hardly damage the environment as it is the environment which dictates its creation – it is NOT a paved double divided highway, but a series of nature trails that take the traveler through diverse geography and appeals to various users such as hikers, cyclists, equestrians and packers. It is nearly finished and will go on with or without this grant, however these monies would hasten its completion. Now, if it were to be destroyed by a natural disaster as some suggest could happen, you would have to include the entire state of Arizona in that disaster. I am casting my votes for the AZ Trail, because I have used portions of it and it is closer to my heart than any other project. Meanwhile, hats off to our sponsor, Redwood Creek, with its generous $50,000 grant to whichever project wins. Stop the whining and just get on with it and let’s ultimately applaud the winner!
Come on, everyone! New Orleans really needs this! For some kids in the city, City Park is really the only bit of nature they ever get to experience. It's a beautiful park in a struggling city. Please help us get it back to the way it was before Katrina so that more New Orleans children can have the same memories I do...and so that the underprivileged kids of New Orleans have access to the trees, ponds, and wildlife in the park. I know it's not like a real campground or anything, but it's a huge chunk of nature smack in the middle of the city, and for some kids, that's all they've got.
Just made my last vote for City Park. Thank you Redwood Creek for bringing all of these fine causes to my attention. Although only one will eventually be selected as the winner of the cash prize, they are all winners through the attention that each of them has recieved through this effort. I've gotten information on each of the activities and have found a couple that I will definitely support financially on my own. Every one of these project have and will win in the long run. Thanks again.
Lets go City Park people! Finish strong. Whoever the winner is, I would just like to add my thanks to the sponsor of this contest, Redwood Creek, for their generosity and shining a light on some great endeavors going on!
"Seems like rebuilding an urban park merits support somewhat more than a piece of trail that will be used by those who probably have themeans to pay for it themselves!"
Why would you think people in Arizona have the means to be able to pay for this themselves? I don't think we're renowned for being particularly wealthy. Remember, you might not be one of them, but there are plenty of wealthy people in New Orleans too!
Anyway, it seems to me that rebuilding an urban park shouldn't really figure in a 'great outdoors" competition at all...
believe me...City Park is Outdoors & it is Great hence the right to be in a Great Outdoors competition.I don't think New Yorkers would let you get away with that comment if you made it about about Central Park & our beautiful City Park is larger!Go City Park! Good luck to all the competitors.
I had many problems trying to cast my vote for CITY PARK - New Orleans, La.
Error messages kept appearing wstating the link did not exists!
I tried many different ways.
I was finally able to cast my vote by going through the link provided on my Local News Channel's website! This was the only way I was able to vote.
SpicyGRITS
City Park is one of the best Urban Parks in the USA,NOLA citizens continue to vote,the park has,picnic area,storyland,golf courses,lagoons,tennis courts,musemum of art,kidde land,horse trails,fishing, just to name a few things offered in the Park.
Thanks, Redwood Creek, for this contest and for featuring projects worthy of our votes. Your corporate image will be improved along with the winner's project completion. We like your "stuff!!!" City Park's a wonderful outdoors experience for anybody....hope it wins.
I voted my heart out for our beloved City Park, but all of the projects are more than worthy of funding and support. Thanks Redwood Creek!
When do we find out who won?
Go City Park!
Did we (City Park) win????
I hope...
I hope....
I hope.....
Thanks to everyone that took the time to vote for City Park.
Thank you all for your passion and enthusiasm! We are busy tallying up the votes and will make a winner's announcement within the next week or so!