Anna's Wish

It's not just the public -- all you potential contest winners -- who get excited about hearing who the next Publishers Clearing House winner is. Here at Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes headquarters in Port Washington we were on pins and needles all day, the day of the SuperPrize award, because we knew it was the BIG DAY -- the day when the very 1st $5,000.00 a Week for Life SuperPrize would be awarded and change some lucky person's life forever ... and for the good.

During a break in a meeting late in the afternoon, we heard the BIG NEWS: the PCH Prize Patrol had awarded the huge SuperPrize to a teacher, in a heartwarming sweepstakes winning moment, right in the lunchroom of her school, with all the other teachers and children crying out in excitement and support for her. "Yikes!" both Maryann L. and I said at the same time. You see, Maryann is married to an Art teacher -- and I'm married to an English teacher. "Can you just imagine…" we said, "all those children seeing one of their favorite teachers winning $5,000 a Week for Life from Publishers Clearing House! With a personal appearance in school by the famous Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol!"

As soon as I got home from work we turned on the computer and watched the sweepstakes winning moment online at PCHTV.com. Wow! Was it ever exciting! Then we watched it again. And again.

"Oh, I would never want to be the center of attention like that, with all those kids screaming and jumping up and down," my "better half" said. "Oh yes you would," I corrected, "if it meant YOU were the winner of $5,000.00 a Week for Life!"

The next day I couldn't wait to get in to work to hear more details. How the PCH Prize Patrol tracked down the big cash prize winner. What everyone at the school said after the cameras stopped rolling. You see, all of us PCH employees like to share in all the contest excitement... And this time, because the Big Winner lives within driving distance of Publishers Clearing House, I'm really hoping that we get to meet her in person!

Anna S.

Creative Dept.

Editor's Note: Anna S., a loyal Publishers Clearing House employee, doesn't know it yet, but her wish is about to come true. Our newest SuperPrize winner, Doris Gray, will be coming to Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Headquarters soon to meet our employees. Watch for more news about this exciting insider event!

Thank You, Oscar-Style

When I recently presented a “big check” to Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes winner Margaret Horn, she immediately cried, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

It was kind of like listening to some movie star who received an Academy Award and breathlessly thanked everybody imaginable for playing a part in the glittering success.

While Margaret directed the words to me as the head of the PCH Prize Patrol, follow-up conversation indicated that her heartfelt reaction was similar to one that a lucky priest quickly expressed many years ago when he won: “Thank God from whom all blessings flow!”

Some winners also thank Lady Luck or a friend or relative who urged them to enter the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, remarking “What have you got to lose?”

If our winners were familiar with the internal workings at Publishers Clearing House and felt like rambling on Oscar-style, they might also thank the following:

• All the folks out there who open our mailings and visit our websites and make our business viable.

• All those who are excited by the prospect of winning a big prize and enter our sweepstakes by mail or online.

• All those who order a magazine subscription or take advantage of our value deals on merchandise. Our sweepstakes prize money is sales revenue generated. Although no purchase is required to enter or win our sweepstakes, many find our deals “unbeatable” and enjoy the magazines or products they buy from Publishers Clearing House .

• All the employees at Publishers Clearing House who develop our promotional materials, fill them with exciting offers, and provide outstanding customer service.

• A management team at Publishers Clearing House that is dedicated to the same high standards of customer satisfaction that were established in 1953 when the company was founded – right here in Port Washington, Long Island, New York.

It would be our pleasure to welcome you into the huge-and-ever-growing Publishers Clearing House family of customers and winners. If you haven’t joined already, just visit pch.com, PCHSearch&Win.com or one or more of the several PCH online game website links such as PCH Lotto, PCH Games or PCH Scratch Cards – and you could be on your way to walking on our Oscar-style “red carpet” that is always rolled out for you!

Dave Sayer

Executive Director

PCH PRIZE PATROL

The Sweetest Sound

What if you answered your doorbell and heard our PCH Prize Patrol announce, “You are a Publishers Clearing House winner!”

Wouldn’t that be music to your ears?

That was the idea behind some TV commercials we ran some years ago, imagining -- in musical terms -- the blessing of receiving a huge cash windfall in our contest. Overlaid on emotional videos of actual sweepstakes winning moments, one commercial’s lyrics went like this:

"Think about your daydreams,

And what you would do

If you won Ten Million

Out of the blue?

Miracles can happen,

Can happen for you.

Publishers Clearing House:

The House Where Dreams Come True."

Another contest commercial’s anthem-like lyrics went like this:

"From Maine to California,

Great Lakes to Rio Grande,

People winning riches

All across the land.

Imagine the bell rings.

The winner is you!

Publishers Clearing House:

The House Where Dreams Come True."

Yet another spot promoting the sweepstakes had a hand-clapping Gospel revival flavor:

"O my prayer’s been answered,

O sing hall-e-luh!

I just won a fortune

Out of the blue.

Miracles can happen

For me and for you.

Publishers Clearing House:

The House Where Dreams Come True.

Yes they do, Yes they do, Yes they do!"

And that’s the gospel truth, because Publishers Clearing House runs an honest, legitimate sweepstakes. Real people win real Big Checks from The House Where Dreams Come True. And if the winner were you, believe me, you’d be singing a happy tune, a sweepstakes winning moment performance we’d love to put in a new TV commercial and show online at PCHTV.com. But first you have to enter the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes – simply by clicking on pch.com. You can also get daily chances to win free cash prizes by searching online at PCH Search & Win. With some luck, you could soon hear something as heavenly as “You’re the newest Publishers Clearing House winner!”

Start practicing, and good luck!

Dave Sayer

Executive Director

PCH PRIZE PATROL

Tools, Problem Solvers, Pet Items and an Antibiotic "To Go"

Going the extra mile -- plus thousands more -- to bring our customers the best!

At Publishers Clearing House, we have a dedicated staff of merchandise buyers constantly on the lookout for a wide variety of unique, hard-to-find items and great values. We really want to please our customers and bring them the best merchandise, even if it means having to go “the extra mile” over and above the call of duty -- like Lisa C, one of our buyers, did recently.

“I was flying to China to find the latest and greatest new products in Automotive, Cleaning, Tools, Problem Solvers, Lights, Organizers, Laundry and Pet Items. After the long plane ride, my throat was feeling a little sore. OK, no problem, I thought it must only be a little dry and with a good night’s sleep, I’ll be raring to get to work.

Morning comes and my throat is still sore, even more so than the day before. Well, by day’s end (10:00 PM), I had a lump sticking out so far of my neck that I could barely swallow. I was thinking it had to be strep throat, and I needed an antibiotic -- and fast. So I went down to the concierge to ask for the hotel doctor. They didn't have one, but they did call a doctor and he was going to pay me a visit at the hotel. One hour, they told me. I was instantly relieved. I would have stayed up all night if I needed to, as long as this doctor could help relieve the pain.

Once he arrived, I met him in the lobby. He looked at my throat with a flashlight right there in the lobby. That was a first – I was getting a medical check up in the middle of a hotel lobby. Anyway, I can laugh about it now and was in too much pain to think about it at that time, but two minutes later I was diagnosed with tonsilitis. The doctor opened up his bag and handed me an antibiotic prescription. I was ever so grateful as my pain subsided over night, and by the next morning, I was raring to get back to the goal I started with: finding the best values around for our customers.”

Speaking of problem solvers and pet products, you may want to check out the online deals we have on Mighty Putty that fixes, fills and seals almost anything or the Heat-Reflecting Pet Pad that uses space-age thermal material to reflect your dog's or cat's own body heat, creating a warm, comfortable spot for a snooze. An amazing tool you won't want to miss is the Power Wrench & Power Screwdriver All-In-One Tool that lets you easily insert or remove screws or turn the wrench simply by squeezing the handle.

Wow! No wonder Lisa's busy! What will she come up with next?

Prize Witnesses Verify: Winning Moments on TV are Real

Wherever we go across the USA, people are always shocked and amazed to see the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. Why? Well, for lots of reasons:

• For twenty years they’ve seen us appear on TV in our sweepstakes winning moment commercials, but they never saw us in person.

• “I never knew you really existed!” many say.

• They doubted that they would ever see us in their “neck of the woods” – “It’s always somewhere else!”

• They see that we are ordinary folks, that we are regular Publishers Clearing House employees, not made-up actors.

• They are amazed that we travel hundreds and thousands of miles from our Port Washington, Long Island, NY headquarters to award a “big check” to a friend or neighbor or relative of theirs.

Recently in Cypress, Texas, we saw similar reactions from bystanders to another of our sweepstakes winning moments.

“I can’t believe this!” said Denise, proprietor of Woodya Flowers where we picked up a beautiful bouquet of eighteen American Beauty roses and had our Prize Patrol balloons inflated with helium. “I’m so excited that my flowers may show up on TV!” she added.

Next door, Scott, the owner of Copperhead Music, was also stunned to learn there was a contest winner nearby. “I am astounded!” he said. “Sure, I’ve seen you on TV; but I never thought I’d see it happen here!”

His sales associate Tim was also impressed. When told that the local Publishers Clearing House winner had won a big cash prize by entering the free contest at PCH's Search&Win website, http://search.pch.com/, he announced, “Well, I’m gonna go online and enter the contest!”

You should do the same!

I'm guessing you’d like to meet us in person, too – and the chances of that are improving since we will be traveling to 101 towns and cities across the USA in May! But in the meantime, if you want to win, you have to enter the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, and that’s easy. Just go to pch.com!

For chances to win free prizes and contests by playing online games, you can also go to some of the other, exciting Publishers Clearing House websites, such as PCH Lotto, PCH Games, or PCH Scratch Cards

Good luck!

Dave Sayer

Executive Director

PCH PRIZE PATROL

Prize Patrol Checklist

Just as the NASA astronauts employ check lists before they lift off into space, the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol has a check list we rely on to make sure we’ve done all that’s necessary before embarking on one of our frequent sweepstakes prize delivery missions.

It's not unusual for me to receive an email in the morning from the Publishers Clearing House Contest Department informing me of a cash prize drawing that took place an hour ago. The prize is to be delivered tomorrow. So we have a lot to do before “lift off.” Here’s my check list:

• Receive from the Contest Department an affidavit for the winner that he/she will complete and return to Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes headquarters after the prize presentation.

• Notify the Art Department to prepare the “big check” (personalized with the Publishers Clearing House winner's name and prize amount) and the Finance Department to cut the smaller but all-important “real check.”

• Have Kathy and Sue pull together a folder of PCH information for the winner, a bunch of Prize Patrol balloons, a Prize Patrol label to be fastened to a bottle of fine champagne, and Prize Patrol t-shirts for the video cameramen.

• Determine the airport nearest the winner – assuming that the winner is not within driving distance from Publishers Clearing House’s headquarters in Port Washington, Long Island, New York.

• Develop an ideal but flexible timetable for the whole trip and sweepstakes prize award process.

• Go online to check available flights, then make reservations for flights and a minivan (on which we will fasten our familiar PCH Prize Patrol sign).

• Ask Contest Department which hotel was selected for the winner’s TV area, double check location and availability and book a suitable reservation.

• Arrange transportation from home to airport.

• Ask Contest Department which florist was selected to be near the Publishers Clearing House winner, double check availability and proximity to winner's address and order a big bouquet of red roses to be ready for pick-up. Inform the florist that we will bring Prize Patrol balloons to be inflated with helium.

• Print out MapQuest maps or bring along a GPS to provide navigational direction from the airport to the florist, winner and hotel.

• Engage a video cameraman from PrimaLux, our longtime New York-based video support.

• Invite local TV and newspaper media in the winner’s area to cover the surprise sweepstakes winning moment. (Reporters love covering sweepstakes winner stories – so much more fun than covering town meetings, fires and hold-ups.)

• Pull together PCH Prize Patrol apparel and remember to bring along petty cash, picture ID, a digital camera, cell phone, travel confirmations, important phone numbers, and clothes for any contingency – but pack light! (We have to be prepared to run between flight connections -- which have a notorious reputation for baggage mishaps.)

All of this may sound like a stressful enterprise – and it often is; but it’s always a thrill to knock on someone’s door and announce, “You are a Publishers Clearing House winner!!” And it will be a thrill for you – if you enter the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes online and WIN!

Good luck!

Dave Sayer

Executive Director

PCH PRIZE PATROL

The Man Behind the Video Camera

In 1988, when we first tried notifying Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes winners of their good fortune in-person rather than by phone, PCH’s Todd Sloane (now Senior Vice President and member of the Prize Patrol Elite Team) used a simple camcorder to videotape the winner reactions. When the successful results indicated that taped sweepstakes winning moments would become a perennial centerpiece of our TV commercials, we knew we had to hire a professional cameraman. Jeff Byrd, a principal at PrimaLux, a video production firm in New York City, joined the Prize Patrol on our next trip and has been the primary man behind the camera ever since. He has traveled all over the USA with us, including Alaska.

Jeff has taped many of our classic sweepstakes winning moments – Thelma Seidenberg in NH, Sherwin Gerber in IL, Courtney Lockhard in MO, Father Mike Berner in IA, Barbara Cotter in TX among many others.

He is an expert at helping us tell the sweepstakes winner stories by capturing the excitement, the emotion, the unexpected drama and the amazed reactions of onlookers – including wide-eyed youngsters and even dogs. His camera points down when a winner falls in a faint, and it bounces as needed when a winner jumps for joy. He zooms in when the tears start flowing and when prayers of thanks are uttered. He pulls back when the family surrounds the Publishers Clearing House winner at the door and when neighbors arrive to share the Prize Patrol champagne that we bring. He knows how to adjust for variable light conditions -- whether the winner is surprised at dawn, midday, or midnight, at home, in an office, in a dark warehouse, in a restaurant, in a hospital – he’s seen and done it all.

And then there’s the unpredictable weather. But Jeff can handle that too. His non-PCH assignments have taken him to all seven of the world’s continents in all kinds of climates; so the snow and cold we’ve known in Minnesota and the August flies we experienced in the heat of an Iowan summer are no problem for him.

Jeff shoots a lot of video about movie stars and their new films, the kind of stuff you see on Entertainment Tonight and Extra! But he tells us that videotaping the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes winning moments is just as exciting. There’s nothing quite like capturing the thrill on the face of someone who has just won a huge cash $10 Million SuperPrize. He’s looking forward to our next SuperPrize award adventure when some lucky person – maybe you – will become the next Publishers Clearing House winner.

Will you be ready for your close-up if you win? Enter the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes online at once and you may meet Jeff Byrd and the rest of the Prize Patrol live and in person.

Good luck!

Dave Sayer

Executive Director

PCH PRIZE PATROL

Who Prepares the Big Check?

In an earlier blog I told you about two people at Publishers Clearing House who make our frequent Prize Patrol trips around the USA possible: Kathy and Sue who have been employed by our company a combined 60 years! They get all our “stuff” together as we head out the door – the balloons, the paperwork we need to share with the lucky Publishers Clearing House winners, itinerary info and more. They don’t show up in our TV commercials the way Todd, Eve, Allison and I do; but they are there in spirit.

There’s another person at our Port Washington, Long Island, NY headquarters who doesn’t make trips with us or appear on TV; but helps the Prize Patrol prepare for nearly every sweepstakes winning moment. I’m talking about Michael, a veteran of almost 30 years in our art department. He produces a Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes icon that everyone would like to receive in person: the big check! It is made out of Styrofoam board, and virtually every one you have seen on TV has been personalized with the Publishers Clearing House winner’s name by Michael himself.

Like most artists, Michael wants to make sure that whatever he creates looks its best when it’s photographed for our mailings or videotaped for our commercials. Regrettably we often do not give him the time he’d like to hand-letter a winner’s name so it looks just perfect. For instance, a prize drawing will be held in the morning and we need the big check complete, wrapped and ready-to-go within two or three hours – because a prize delivery has been promised for the next day on the West Coast. “Hurry Michael -- we need to leave for the airport right away!” I’ve been known to say as we stand waiting, travel gear and Prize Patrol paraphernalia in hand.

Michael and the art production studio always come through. He is used to pressure – after years of getting artwork, type and photos ready for the almost daily printing of Publishers Clearing House mailings.

Just as the winners say “Thank you!” to the Prize Patrol after every award, we say “Thanks Michael: we couldn’t carry off the thrilling sweepstakes winning moments without you.”

How would you like to see your name on a big check delivered by the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol? The first step could not be easier: just enter our famous Sweepstakes online at http://pch.com/. Or, you can link to one of our several PCH websites for free online games, such as PCHLotto, PCHGames (where you can play Air Hockey, Solitaire or Jigsaw Puzzles plus many other games), or PCHScratchCards. You can also go for prizes by searching online at PCHSearch&Win.

Good luck!

Dave Sayer

Executive Director

PCH PRIZE PATROL

Irish or Not, A Lucky Day for Margaret

On St. Patrick’s Day, the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol was in Houston, Texas, to award a special prize for that special day to a special person: Margaret Horn.

I don’t know whether Margaret has any Irish blood in her; but there was no denying that St. Patrick's Day was a lucky day for her. We arrived and knocked at her door and gave Margaret the thrill of a lifetime: a surprise sweepstakes winning moment complete with roses, balloons, champagne and – ta-da!! – a “big check” for $10,000.00! She was immediately surrounded by her daughter-in-law, three grandchildren and a bunch of their friends, all oooh-ing and ahhh-ing and grasping at the balloons – the most exciting part as far as the younger ones were concerned.

But let’s face it: the luck actually began just days before when Margaret went online and entered the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes simply by searching the way that has become a habit for her: via PCH's Search&Win website: http://search.pch.com/

If you regularly conduct an online search -- and who among you doesn’t do that several times a day? – do what Margaret does and you could be a winner too. We’ve given away over $220 million in prizes! Isn’t it about time for you to win a big cash prize too?

At PCHSearch&Win there are prizes every day. You can even win our next big SuperPrize: $10 Million! Once you try it, I'll bet you won't want to use an ordinary search engine again.

So what are you waiting for? Find out how easy it is to search online the PCH way, enter our sweepstakes online and possibly win! Before you know it, I could be driving the PCH Prize Patrol van up your street, stopping at your home, ringing your doorbell and announcing, “You are a Publishers Clearing House winner!”

Good luck!

Dave Sayer

Executive Director

PCH PRIZE PATROL

Real People Win

Yesterday one of our PCH Blog readers sent in a comment expressing skepticism about whether the Publishers Clearing House winners shown online and on TV really need the sweepstakes prize money and whether they are paid actors or real people. You may have wondered the same thing. Here's the answer:

Publishers Clearing House has awarded over $220 Million in sweepstakes prizes to REAL people from all walks of life. Many of our winners have told us that winning came just in time because they were having financial troubles; although winners are selected at random, not according to financial need.

If you would like to see videos of some Publishers Clearing House winners and behind the scenes footage of Prize Patrol sweepstakes prize awards, you can go to http://pchtv.com/. All the winners shown online and in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes TV commercials are real winners, not paid actors.

You can also read sweepstakes winner stories online right here at the official Publishers Clearing House Blog, also known as PCH Blog, and found at the following link: http://blog.pch.com/.

Some entrants win on their first entry; while other times, people who have been loyal entrants for years finally win. You (and we) never know who the winner will be or which entry might win.

One thing is certain, you have to enter for a chance to win. So, we hope you don't give up -- keep sending in those entries! It's fun and easy to enter the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes online at http://pch.com/. You can also get daily chances to win when you search online at PCH Search & Win at http://search.pch.com/.

Good Luck!

Deborah Holland

Executive Vice President

Publishers Clearing House