Second Competition for $5,000 Kentucky Proud Weddings Prize Now Underway

 

 

FRANKFORT (July 31, 2018) — Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles awarded Benjamin and Allison Engelbrecht with a $5,000 grand prize package for winning the Kentucky Proud Weddings Contest on Monday.

At a press conference at Mulberry Orchard in Shelby County, Kentucky, Commissioner Quarles congratulated Allison and Benjamin on selecting a Kentucky Proud venue for their wedding ceremony and for supporting Kentucky’s signature agricultural marketing program.

“Congratulations to the Engelbrechts for winning the Kentucky Proud Weddings Contest and for supporting our hard-working Kentucky Proud members,” said Commissioner Quarles. “Seeing as the wedding industry is a $72 billion industry in the United States, it only made sense to create a way to put our Kentucky Proud members at the front of the line when engaged couples are planning a wedding. I thank the Engelbrechts for selecting a Kentucky Proud venue and products to help them celebrate their special day.”

Allison and Benjamin were married on May 26, 2018 at Echo Valley Winery in Flemingsburg. The couple and their parents selected several Kentucky Proud products in their wedding, including Four Roses bourbon in their wedding cake, a bar stocked with Kentucky Ale beer, and other locally-sourced items from their caterer in Morehead.

Allison is a first-year medical student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and Benjamin serves as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. In his fifth year of active duty, Staff Sergeant Engelbrecht is stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia.

The couple plans to use some of the $5,000 prize to start their new lives together.

Over the course of the public relations and marketing campaign, the Kentucky Proud Weddings website received more than 22,250 views.

“Due to the overwhelming response from the public and our members, we have opened a second round of the Kentucky Proud Weddings Contest,” said Commissioner Quarles. “We want couples and their families to help us highlight the many ways Kentucky Proud members can make your wedding day a breeze. Be sure to share your photos using the contest’s official hashtag, #KyProudWeddings, to be eligible for the prize.”

Entrants must post a qualifying picture or video with the hashtag #KyProudWeddings and must tag a Kentucky Proud vendor and/or member through any social media outlet by 11:59 p.m. EDT October 31, 2018. To be eligible to win the grand prize, a wedding must have taken place at a Kentucky Proud agritourism venue between July 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018. The agritourism venue must be tagged or mentioned in the post.

One grand prize winner will be awarded $5,000 at the conclusion of the promotion in November. An independent committee made up of media and agriculture industry leaders throughout the Commonwealth will select contest winners. Monthly winners will be awarded a Kentucky Proud gift basket at the conclusion of each month throughout the competition. No purchase is necessary to win. Entrants must be Kentucky residents 18 years of age or older. TOPS Magazines of Lexington and Louisville will serve as the contest host and media partner.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture launched the Kentucky Proud Weddings website in February to make it easy to find Kentucky Proud businesses that offer picturesque farm venues for weddings and receptions, local foods and beverages, catering, flowers, gifts, and other goods and services. Funding for the contest prize is provided by the generous support of contributing direct-farm-impact Kentucky Proud business members.

For a full list of contest rules and sponsors, visit kyproud.com/weddings.

To learn more about the Engelbrechts and their Kentucky Proud Weddings story, please visit kyproud.com/weddings.