Bio: Burghaus, Sandra (Contest Winner - 2013)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Burghaus, Groth

----Source: The Star News (Medford, WI) 05/30/2013

Sandra Groth Burghaus is a Hallmark fan.

One might even call her the queen of all Hallmark fans — actually Hallmark already did that and even gave her a crown to prove it. More about the crown later.

Everyone has hobbies and for Sandra Burghaus of Dorchester, her hobby is entering contests. Combine entering contests with being a fan of Hallmark, add equal measures of creativity and imagination and you have a recipe for success.

After years of entering and winning contests, Burghaus was recently selected to be in Hallmark’s “Thanks, Mom” Book Contest. This is the company’s first book contest. “It is a collection of letters, poems and short stories to express gratitude to moms,” Burghaus explains.

According to Burghaus the company took 100 stories to include in the book and selected hers as one of them. “My mom passed away in 2006 to cancer,” she said. “This really means a lot to me.”

Area residents will get a chance to meet Burghaus at a book signing at Annie’s Hallmark in downtown Medford on May 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hallmark judges looked for submissions with strong writing that would speak to many different mother-type relationships, and would inspire countless mothers and daughters alike.

While this is the first time Burghaus has been featured in a book, she has been involved in a number of Hallmark contests in recent years.

Burghaus’ relationship with Hallmark began in 2007 when she happened upon a “Your Hallmark Red” contest. It was money from the sale of the cards that went to a national cause. The contest ran for six months and was decided by public voting. “I got into it in the middle of it, and I watched to see what was evolving,” she said, noting in that contest she became a finalist and was hooked.

When she started following and entering Hallmark’s contests there were about 300 people following a blog. Since Hallmark switched their contests to Facebook, the number of people following has swelled to 37,000.

According to Burghaus, each contest has a different theme.

“They may be asking for a birthday or anniversary or a wedding card,” she said. To enter, people come up with a photo or illustration and a funny verse to go with it that matches the theme.
While the first contest ran for six months and featured public voting, Hallmark has since changed the contests to run monthly. Many of those who regularly enter the contests keep up to date with them through the Facebook page. Burghaus explains that about twice a week, the judges at Hallmark hold sessions where they go through the cards that have been sent and post clues or hints about the ones being considered. The cards are divided into A and B categories. “A is very good, and B is maybe,” she said.

The contests come to a head on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the final week.
“On Monday they have final review of entries. On Tuesday it is ‘Torture Tuesday’ because everybody is waiting to see who won. On Wednesday they have ‘blurries’ and winner calls,” she said. In the blurries, the judges intentionally post blurred images of the finalists and winners, “In the afternoon they do winner calls and everyone sits by their phones and waits,” she said. “Imagine 37,000 people sitting by their phones.”

Each contest can have between 12 and 15 winners depending on the kind of card in the contest. Hallmark sends the winners of the contest a check for $250. All the winning cards are for sale on the company’s website. If the card is selected to be sold in stores, they get an additional $250.
While the prize money is nice, Burghaus said the coolest part of the contest is the winners get their photo and name on the back of each of the cards. She said she has gotten calls from people who looked her up after seeing one of her cards in a store or getting it as a gift. Another person called her after purchasing one of her cards just to see if she was a real person.

About the crown

In 2010, Hallmark had a contest among their fans to find out who the biggest fan was as part of the Hallmark Fan Brigade. There was voting among all the fans and Burghaus was picked. In addition to other prizes, Hallmark also sent her a crown. “That is a very big honor and it always will be,” she said.

In 2012, she topped that by becoming the first person ever to get married at Hallmark’s headquarters. Burghaus and her then-finance now husband Ken, had always planned to get married “some day” but the timing just never was right. Last year, they had an event called Fandemonium and brought 50 people to Hallmark’s headquarters in Missouri to tour the facility and just have fun.

They signed up to go in January and in June got their tickets. She said: “I came home from work and [Ken] was sitting at his computer and he handed me a box and said ‘How would you like to get married at Hallmark?’

I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ He said, ‘No it is all arranged.’”

I just about swallowed my tongue.”

Members of their wedding party were people they had met through Hallmark and the wedding was held the last day of the event. “I made my flowers out of Hallmark wrapping paper and all the women wore bunny slippers,” she said. Of course, she also wore her crown.

Burghaus continues to enter creative and funny card ideas into the contests and doesn’t see herself stopping any time soon. Last Wednesday she learned she won twice in the “For Him” birthday card contest. She is looking forward to the next contest which is focusing on Internet “memes.” She said many people didn’t know what they were but are having fun finding out and coming up with their own entries.

Over the years, she has become close to those in the fan community, noting they have gone from being on-line friends to very real friends. “It is fun doing this,” she said.