Military Family Showcased in New Ashworth College Facebook Photography Sweepstakes

Military Personnel, Military Spouses, Veterans vote for chance to win $500 Exchange Gift Card

NORCROSS, Ga., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the launch of its Military Facebook page dedicated to military personnel, military spouses, veterans, and military supporters,  Ashworth College (http://www.ashworthcollege.edu) is rolling out the second installation of its Battle of the Best Sweepstakes. The new contest is accessed through the Ashworth College Military Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/ashworthcollegemilitary) and showcases photos celebrating the military family.

Beginning May 3, active duty, veterans, military spouses and dependants, and military supporters will have the chance to vote on photography submissions provided by Ashworth's sister school, the New York Institute of Photography (NYIP). NYIP asked amateur photographers to submit their best military family-themed images and from more than 44 submissions, 10 were selected for the sweepstakes.

Ashworth launched the Battle of the Best Military Movie Sweepstakes in March and plans to continue sponsoring monthly contests around various military themes. Once becoming a fan of Ashworth's Military Facebook page, fans are able vote for their favorite photo. Fans are also able to invite other military friends and family members to participate. Those with direct military ties will have the opportunity to win a $500 Exchange Gift Certificate.

"For this next round we're excited to partner with NYIP and to share such a moving collection of military-themed photos," said Rodney Butler, U.S. Army First Sergeant, Retired and Ashworth College Military Education Coordinator. "All the submissions were great. It was a difficult narrowing it down to only ten."

To be eligible for the random drawing of a $500 Exchange gift certificate, participants must be U.S. active duty, veteran or a military dependant who is 18 years of age or older. They must become a fan of Ashworth's Facebook Military page, vote for their favorite military photo and enter the sweepstakes. The initial contest will runs through Tuesday, May 31. Winners will be notified within 10 days after the end of the contest period.

"The $500 prize is Ashworth's way showing its appreciation to those who serve our country, in particular to our many students and alumni who are active duty, veterans or military spouses," Butler added.

Ashworth College already has made an impact through its Facebook presence, attracting more than 13,000 fans to its main page. The decision to create a sister page was to better provide targeted content to its growing military student base. The contest, which was conceptualized by Ashworth and created for Facebook by digital promotion specialists Wildfire Interactive, Inc., uses social media and interactive elements.

Ashworth College is a Servicemember Opportunity Colleges Consortium (SOC) member school, accepts ACE credits and is approved for a range of other military benefits including Post 9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, GoArmyEd, and MyCAA.

Ashworth has been recognized as a military friendly school by both G.I. Jobs and Military Advanced Education magazines, supports a campus chapter of the Student Veteran's Association and is a sponsor of Military Spouse magazine's 2011 Military Spouse of the Year Award.

About Ashworth College

As a leader in online education, Ashworth College has built a tradition of excellence spanning 25 years, offering students worldwide more than 115 online college degrees, online career certificates, online career training and high school online diplomas that are affordable and fit the busy schedules of working adults. Ashworth offers military education online as well as specialized programs for corporate partners and homeschoolers.

Headquartered in Norcross, GA, Ashworth is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). The Accrediting Commission of the DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency. James Madison High School is further accredited regionally by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). SACS CASI is an accreditation division of AdvancED. For more information, visit http://www.ashworthcollege.edu.

About Wildfire Interactive, Inc.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Wildfire Interactive, Inc. is a privately-held technology company specialized in developing simple tools that enable organizations to engage the hundreds of millions of users of social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Its patent-pending technology allows corporations, small businesses, marketing agencies, bloggers and non-profits to easily create their own attractive, branded interactive campaigns (e.g. sweepstakes, contests, give-aways, incentive-based surveys etc) and to simultaneously publish them in multiple social networks and on their website. Intuitive, streamlined and affordable, our software is simple enough for even the least tech-savvy business manager to use, and flexible enough to suit the needs of the most creative marketer or advertising agency.

SOURCE Ashworth College