I have always had a belief that the majority of goods at dollar stores are formed out of compacted saw dust. This belief did not stop me from loading a cart full of Pepsi two-liters at Dollar General, as if I were I a Y2K fanatic. A Fourth of July sale knocked the price on Pepsi products down to a single dollar, and I was in need of Pepsi – or rather the gold bottle caps found on Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max.
At 11:00 p.m. (noon Eastern Standard Time) on July 1, I was notified that the Windsor Hotel had been accepted into the Pepsi Refresh Project and would have the chance to win $50,000 if enough votes were collected during the month of July. With one thousand applications accepted and ten grants awarded each month, I knew it would be worth a shot.
After three days of voting, rankings were posted. The Windsor Hotel Lobby Restoration Project ranked thirtieth in the nation. Meaning we only had to climb twenty places and a grant would be ours. Today, our ranking is forty-one. We are going the wrong way. If I had a contact list for the entire cellular community, I would be known as the community spammer. Perhaps I already am. Upon learning that we were in the Pepsi Refresh Project, I sent an e-blast out to my entire e-mail contact list.
Additionally, posters and table tents have been sprouting throughout local businesses and within the next few days, small business cards with voting information will invade town, similar to how moths invade the town every spring – they are everywhere. The first batch states “Tape this card to you computer.” (My eyes often see imaginary letters, most commonly the letter R). The cards should state “Tape this card to YOUR computer.” My hopes are that no one will notice the large green elephant drinking tea in the corner of the room. Typos happen. Wanting to reprint the whole first batch, I decided to hug a tree instead. You can tape the card to you computer. Luckily, the Pepsi Refresh ad at Mitchell Theatres’ Sequoyah 8 is grammatically correct. At least it will be until I see it with my own eyes.
The Windsor Hotel can win the Pepsi Refresh Project. Community commitment to voting is the key. Without community support, the Preservation Alliance efforts will be as useful as an expired can of Pepsi – rather flat.
My hope is that Garden City is up to the challenge. I will be voting everyday and encouraging anyone who needs a reminder to join the Preservation Alliance e-blast list by contacting gardencitywindsorhotel@gmail.com. We only have one shot at this. Vote three times every day. One: vote every day by texting 107541 to 73774 (Pepsi). Two: vote every day by visiting http://www.refresheverything.com/windsorhotel and sign-in with Pepsi. Three: vote every day by visiting http://www.refresheverything.com/windsorhotel and sign-in with Facebook. Get additional votes by purchasing Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Pepsi Max with gold bottle caps. The caps offer between five and one hundred additional “Power Votes.”
Vote everyday and the Windsor Hotel lobby will be restored.
Cheers.
gardencitywindsorhotel 