In a twist on the Dr. Seuss classic, instead of stealing Christmas this year, the Grinch could be buying an anniversary trip – at least for one local couple.
Tracy Allison is a finalist in the Sweater Party Photo Contest sponsored by Live with Kelly and Ryan. The nationally syndicated talk show starring Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest selected Allison as one of 25 semi-finalists and now she has a chance to win $3,000.
Allison credits her friend Kimberli Dailey with getting her into the contest after seeing it promoted on TV.
“She said that she knew any of the ugly sweaters that I used to wear to school every day during the whole month of December could be a winner,” Allison tells Now Habersham.
That prompted Allison to rummage through some old photographs.
“I quickly looked back through several years of old pictures and found one of me wearing this sweater while I was working as an assistant principal at North Habersham Middle School. I figured that picture was just as good as any other pictures I might find, so, I uploaded it to their website.”
The show selected the semi-finalists from the online entries. On December 2, Allison was pleasantly surprised to learn she was chosen.
“My friend, Robin Smith, messaged me on messenger on FB and said, ‘I’m at home today, and I just saw your gorgeous face pop up on my TV. Voting for you!’ I rewound it to make sure I wasn’t crazy,” Allison says.
After she entered the contest, Allison says the show did not contact her. She checked Live’s website a few times but never saw anything. Eventually, she says, “it sort of just slipped my mind.”
That made Thursday’s surprise all the sweeter.
“I am so excited because I assumed that thousands of people entered and that I would not really have a chance to be nominated,” she says.
Smith helped spread the word on social media, encouraging people to vote for Allison to get her into the finals. A panel of judges will select the grand prize winner from among the top vote-getters.
The voting period for Allison’s semi-final round has ended, but the winners likely will not be announced until next week.
“If I win, I plan to spend the money on something nice for my wedding anniversary,” she says. “This year was my 30th wedding anniversary, and due to various circumstances beyond our control, we did not get to go anywhere. So, I am hoping I win and that a cool trip is in my future for my family!”
Even if she doesn’t bring home the grand prize, Allison has had fun sharing the spotlight with one of her favorite Seuss characters.
“I love the Grinch because all of us have goodness inside of us. Sometimes we just need some help from others to let it shine.” Besides, she adds, “Some think he’s ugly, but I think he’s cute.”
