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(Submitted photo)
It just so happened that the up and coming country band Love and Theft passed through the town of Bell Buckle at some point in time and took a picture.
It just so happened that Kraft Singles and Disney ABC are co-sponsoring a contest to choose the Best Single Town in America that will include a concert by the band.
It just so happened that they chose the Bell Buckle photograph for the first commercial promoting the contest, and it just so happened that someone from Bell Buckle saw it.
From there on, the "just so happens" have turned into "Bell Buckle makes it happen."
Team effort
Members of the town's board of mayor and aldermen and chamber of commerce heard about the commercial and the contest and decided that their town was, in fact, the best single town in America and it was time to let the rest of the world know. They entered the town in the Kraft/Disney competition and now Bell Buckle is on the top 10 list of finalists.
"It was one of those weird things," said Jenny Hunt, an alderwoman and member of the chamber. "Carla (Webb) called me one day, she goes, "You're not going to believe what's happened -- I was watching 'The View' and Kraft Cheese had a commercial on promoting the contest and they showed three different photos and one of those photos was the mural on the public restrooms.' I haven't even seen the commercial.
"We didn't even know about the contest but decided to enter it," Hunt added. "We figured we had to have our foot in the door, considering."
Actually, not really.
"The fact that we used the picture in the commercial didn't make a difference one way or another," said Angela Wiggins, Corporate Affairs Cheese & Foodservice with Kraft Foods. "They sent in a very good entry and essay."
Good start
The contest has progressed in stages, In the first stage, the winners were decided by votes at the contest Web site (family.go.com/best-town-contest/view-all/v/1/. ) Different people could submit different entries for the same town.
"Maggi Vaughn, Billy Phillips, and I all entered what we thought would win for Bell Buckle," said Hunt. "Maggi wrote a four-line poem and Ron Smith wrote about Webb."
Naturally, she said, the town's RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival was mentioned.
Next, a single, short essay was required.
"The contest basically asks you to submit a short essay (1,000 characters maximum) and a photo so all us wordy Bell Buckle people struggled with that," said Hunt.
Top 10
On Friday, the top 10 finalists were officially announced and Bell Buckle was there, along with Three Lakes, Wis.; Richmond, Mich.; Augusta, Ga.; Hamburg, N.Y.; Girard, Ill.; Gastonia, N.C.; Lexington, Ky.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Twinsburg, Ohio.
Now, more votes are required. Hunt admits Bell Buckle is a little handicapped in that area when it comes to drawing from the population for votes.
"We've got about 600 people," she said laughing. "I think Lexington is going to have a few more than that ... We're going to have to go outside city limits and solicit votes!'
You can vote for Bell Buckle at http://family.go.com/best-town-contest/. As of midday Saturday, Bell Buckle was in second place behind Three Lakes. Both were far ahead of the other cities.
"The deadline is April 11," said Hunt. "After that, they'll announce the winner."
Party time
The winning town will receive "an unforgettable block party featuring Lyric Street recording artists Love And Theft, who are gearing up to tour with country music superstars Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum," said Wiggins.
The block party will also feature appearances by stars from various ABC daytime dramas.
"Eric, Stephen and I have been inspired by the towns we grew up in, so we're excited to be a part of celebrating the unique traits that make the winning town like no other place on earth," says Brian Bandas of country music trio Love And Theft. "Like these towns, country music is uniquely American, and we can't wait to give the winning town a show to remember."
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