David and Deidre Carroll from Keller, Texas, are the $10,000 grand prize winners of the Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park 40th Anniversary Video Contest. The Carrolls and their daughters Ashton (age 7) and Jordan (age 5), received their $10,000 prize, a basket of Jellystone Park gift basket full of Yogi Bear souvenirs on a return visit to Jellystone Park in Canyon Lake, Texas – the site where the winning video was filmed during the family’s stay over the Fourth of July holiday. 

“We’re very happy for the Carroll family. They reflect our mission to foster a fun family experience that creates lasting memories,” said Michele Wisher, Director of Marketing for Leisure Systems Inc., the franchisor of Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts. “It was great to see so many entertaining and enthusiastic videos that show how our campers enjoy our parks.”

The contest, which ran May 23 to Sept. 8, 2009, required the videos to be taken at any of the 71 Jellystone Park Camp-Resort locations and be 30 to 90 seconds in length (maximum length is 3 minutes.) Participants submitted 77 videos from 16 states and two provinces in Canada. The general public was asked to vote for their favorite videos which accounted for 50 percent of the overall score. A panel of judges from Leisure Systems Inc., the franchiser of Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts, also judged each video and contributed to the other 50 percent of the contestant’s score. More than 21,000 votes were cast online with the Carroll’s video garnering the highest overall score from the public and Leisure Systems. All of the videos can be seen at www.jellystonefun.com.

Because of fond memories David has from visits to Jellystone Parks as a child, the Carroll family frequently visits Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts to spend quality time as a family. The Carrolls heard about the contest online and decided to film the video, which stars young Jordan Carroll asleep with her stuffed Yogi bear. In a dream sequence Yogi magically comes to life and Jordan relives all of the fun from her visit.  
“We are thrilled to win the $10,000 grand prize,” said Deidre Carroll. “The girls are very excited because they are allowed to decide how to spend a small portion.”