99W takes the fifth Honda projector

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The 99W Drive-In (Newberg OR) is the fifth but not final winner of Honda’s Project Drive-In. As I predicted, Honda has reopened voting and will award four more digital projectors. According to the Project Drive-In site, voting will continue until Saturday, and the next four winners will be announced September 23.

Meanwhile, Portland’s news leader KATU picked up the 99W’s success story. It quoted co-owner Camille Francis’s reaction. “We are so happy,” she said. “We are putting it up on our marquee, people are cheering – it’s just really awesome.”

The 99W, which opened in 1953, is the only West Coast drive-in to win so far. “When the first winner was announced, they had 30,000 Facebook fans and we only have 7,000,” Francis said. “And we were watching every day and watching the winners. And we thought only East Coast drive-ins would win.”

There are a few nice photos and more details in the KATU story, so you really should go read it. And you can watch the pre-award video, embedded above, from KGW, Portland’s other news leader. And when you’re done with all that, go vote again. Let’s keep more drive-ins alive.

McHenry Outdoor Theatre is a winner

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photo courtesy American Honda Motor Co.

photo courtesy American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The McHenry Outdoor Theatre (McHenry IL) is the fourth winner of a digital projector from Honda’s Project Drive-In. And today’s winner, owner Scott Dehn, has a pleasant problem – what to do with the money he’d already saved up through fundraisers.

On the McHenry’s Facebook page, Dehn wrote, “for those of you who have donated money, I am happy to tell you that not only will it help cover the installation and retrofitting of our projection booth, but the money will also help to make much needed repairs to the location. We will be painting the screen, fixing speakers and even make the route 120 sign look nice. We will be doing so much here over the next few months. You will not recognize your rejuvenated theater come next spring. I want this to continue to build upon this theater we all have loudly stated we love so much.”

Sounds like Honda was just a little cruel in the way it delivered its generous news to Dehn. First, his long Facebook post from two days ago showed that he still didn’t know about it. “First, all hope is not lost if we do not win a free projector,” he wrote. “Project Drive-In was just a fantastic opportunity to get the neccesary and expensive digital equipment for FREE. If we are not among the winners, I have a multitude of avenues to explore. I will NOT let the theater close. We WILL survive. The question is only in what capacity.” Today, according to a story in the Northwest Herald, Dehn “was in the middle of an on-camera interview with a crew he’d been told was from a film-related website.” The last interview question was “How does it feel to win a digital projector?” and only then did the crew reveal that it was from Honda.

There’s only one empty place left on the Project Drive-In page. Check tomorrow to find out who it’ll be.

Graham is third winner from Project Drive-In

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The Graham Drive-In (Graham TX) was announced today as the third winner in Honda’s Project Drive-In. By finishing among the top five candidates as voted on by Project Drive-In visitors, the Graham will receive a digital projector to help keep the drive-in experience alive.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram picked up the story, saying that the Graham’s spirited social media presence (such as its Facebook page) helped drive enough voters to the online polls. On that page, the winners posted, “THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! WE COULD NOT HAVE IT DONE WITHOUT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!” Personally, I think the “Zombie-free” YouTube video got a lot of people’s attention.

Other news outlets that picked up the story included the Graham Leader, Wichita Falls’s news leader KFDX, and for some reason, the Rock Hill SC Herald. The Leader pointed out that other Texas drive-ins still in the running included “The Brazos, in Granbury, and Sky-Vue Drive-In, in Lamesa.” Over the next couple of days, we’ll see who else wins.