This winter, The Whistler Sabbatical Project, set out to find people who were willing to unplug from their lives for a month to experience an all-expenses-paid, trip-of-a-lifetime to Whistler.
Thousands said yes. One won. For London, England's Luke Dillon, the idea of skiing the world-renowned slopes of Whistler and enjoying the ultimate bucket list of local experiences is no longer a daydream.
Dillon, a 23-year-old recent university graduate working in the events industry, is the grand prizewinner of the Whistler Sabbatical Project.
"My desire to ski is hard to suppress," Dillon wrote in his contest essay. "But I'm not long out of uni (university), living and working in London, so it's currently filed under 'daydreams'."
Dillon visits Whistler this season to enjoy an all-expensespaid, month-long stay - including air and ground transportation, accommodation, lift tickets and equipment, a salary and he gets to take part in up to 15 unique Whistler experiences.
"A month is so much longer than I have ever had to ski before," Dillon said. "It will be amazing to get that time and learn off the people I ski with and the people I meet."
"This is brilliant," Dillon said, still a bit a-flutter with the news. "I'm really all- excited!"
It isn't only Dillon who has received great news. All runners up for The Whistler Sabbatical Project automatically qualify for the Fan Choice Award. The finalist with the most fan votes will win the Fan Choice Award, and voters will receive one entry toward the Voters' prize each time a vote is cast.
The Fan Choice Award winner and the Voter prize winner will each receive roundtrip coach air transportation; ground transfer from Vancouver International Airport to Whistler, five nights' accommodation, two three-day lift passes for Whistler Blackcomb, one three-hour snowmobile tour for two, one Earn Your Turns tour for two and one $200 gift certificate from the Escape Route retail store in Whistler.
The winner of the Voters' prize will be randomly selected from all votes received, so the more votes cast, the more chances there are to win. (One vote per day).
Voting takes place from February 20 - March 12, 2012. Votes are collected by going to www.whistler.com and clicking on the Fan Choice Award banner. You will need to click "Likes" and log into Facebook to be able to vote. Once in, select the Fan Choice Award and follow the voting steps from there.
