PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — North American Aerospace Defense is seeking entries from current and former NORAD members for two contests being conducted in celebration of the command’s 50th Anniversary.
Contestants can enter NORAD’s anecdote essay contest or the NORAD photo contest. Both contests are open to individuals who have served or are currently serving with NORAD and who currently reside in the Continental United States or Canada.
Eligible individuals include U.S. and Canadian military and civilian personnel, and their family members. Final entries are due by April 22.
Winners of each contest will have an opportunity to attend the Golden Jubilee Ball, which will be held May 12, 2008, in Colorado Springs, Colo., and tour NORAD facilities at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo.
The essay contest will focus on written anecdotes that individuals want to share about NORAD from their experience as part of the NORAD community. The winning anecdote will be printed in a souvenir booklet and presented at the Jubilee Ball. The winning photo will also be printed in the souvenir booklet.
If the contestant is under 18 years old, the entry must be sponsored by a parent or guardian. The sponsor must review and approve the entry before it is submitted, and affirm that the youth wrote the essay or took the photo on his or her own.
Submissions should be typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, one-side only and no more than 150 words. The 150-word limit excludes the title page, and all pages should be numbered in the lower right-hand corner and include the writer’s name in the footnote. Essays should be submitted to NORAD Public Affairs. Electronic submission should be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format and emailed as an attachment to NORAD50@norad.mil, with subject line noted as NORAD 50TH ESSAY CONTEST. Fax hard copy submissions to (719) 554-3165.
Photo contestants are asked to submit photographs that relate to NORAD. The contest theme is “A Day in the Life of NORAD” and includes pictures of people at work, or aircraft, activities or events. The photos may have been taken at any time within NORAD’s 50-year history.
Each photo will be judged on its own merit by a special committee and other appropriate representatives. Photos will be judged on the quality of the photo and how well the image represents the theme.
Electronic submissions may be sent digitally as high-resolution GIF or JPG files and five megabytes or less through e-mail attachment to NORAD50@norad.mil. Subject line should state NORAD 50TH PHOTO CONTEST. Hard copy photos should be mailed, along with the cover letter and signature, to: NORAD 50th Anniversary Team, NORAD Public Affairs, 250 Vandenberg St., Ste. B016, Peterson AFB, CO 80914, USA.
For more details about the contest requirements, anecdote format or photo entry criteria, visit the NORAD 50th Anniversary Contests page and view information noted in the Contests for the NORAD Community section, or call NORAD Public Affairs at (719) 554-6889.
The NORAD 50th Anniversary celebration is an occasion to reflect on the history of the command, honor the strong bi-national relationship between Canada and the United States, pay tribute to the valor of the men and women who serve, and to recognize the command’s evolution in response to new and changing threats to North America.