D-Day was Monday May 24th, though the information I wanted to announce wasn’t available until after I posted my blog.  You might remember that I pestered, begged, badgered, cajoled, and pleaded for you to vote for me in my attempt to get Prilosec to sponsor my blog. If you go to www.officialsponsor.com you will find that I am one of the second group of “officials” named by Prilosec yesterday.  Your votes and comments helped to impress the judges, and I am grateful to all of you for your help.

I do want to give special thanks to several people.  First, is my son Matt who discovered the Prilosec contest and suggested I enter it.  GOTRA leader John Ferguson allowed me to use his race car as a wonderfully noisy prop in my entry video.  My daughter Amanda videoed my entry, my first ever video(also second, third, and fourth attempts at doing this commercial-we didn’t save the outtakes, but if you thought the finished product was rough, you wouldn’t believe what we didn’t use).  She also took photos of me at the Fremont YMCA Wellness Center to help promote my entry. I don’t know how many of you voted for me every day as the rules allowed, but if you did, I am overwhelmed by your kindness.  I do know my writer friend Salley Shannon and race-goer supreme Ivan Tracy voted regularly.  However, my daughter Amanda would do well in Chicago politics as she voted early and often.  Between old and current email addresses Amanda made sure I got a handful of votes every day. Thank you Soo In.

My grandpuppy Sophie (in a voice that sounds strangely like Amanda’s) told me that I needed to thank her and my other grandpuppy Kahlua because both were in the first photo I sent to Prilosec and cute puppies always warm the heart of judges.  So thank you Sophie and Kahlua for sitting still for at least 10 seconds while Amanda took that photo.

I have a few easily met responsibilities to go with my sponsorship, and will be receiving a flip camera and a very nice check from the Prilosec people.  I can use the flip camera for some video blogging, and part of the check will be used to purchase audio equipment so I can add podcasts to my blog.  My techno advisor Amanda is already researching what will work best for me.  Part of the check will also go for my air fare, hotel, and registration expenses to attend the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas in October.

I am very excited about improving my blog-I’m already reading Podcasting Solutions, sort of a Podcasting for Dummies type book.  Matt has made numerous suggestions for interviews, and I will now be able to reach out to drivers, fans, and promoters around the country to share their thoughts with my blog visitors.  I love to write and words will always be a big part of my blog, but being able to provide audio and video as well is important to the future of The Rest of the Dirt.  Don’t be surprised if one day your phone rings and I am asking to interview you.

Again, thanks to each of you for your help in making this sponsorship a reality.