Winning Team Announced in Rand McNally's Best of the Road® Rally

Five teams return from three-week cross-country search for the Best Small Towns in America; Winning team awarded $10,000 and 2011 Saab 9-4X

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Rand McNally

Jul 18, 2011, 03:41 ET

SKOKIE, Ill., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Drumroll please --- Rand McNally's inaugural Best of the Road® Rally, in collaboration with exclusive media sponsor USA TODAY, came to a dramatic finish on Friday, July 15, as the winning team, Gone with the Wynns was announced during a finale ceremony at The Americana at Brand in Los Angeles. At the ceremony, the duo was awarded the title along with a $10,000 check from Rand McNally and a 2011 Saab 9-4X from promotional sponsor Saab Cars North America.

On June 23, five teams of traveling duos were each handed the keys to a brand-new Saab equipped with Rand McNally's RVND navigation device as they hit the road on a three-week cross country adventure in search of the Friendliest, Most Beautiful, Best for Food, Most Patriotic and Most Fun towns in America. Weighing reviews, photos and videos posted by each team during their travels on ontheroad.bestoftheroad.com, Facebook and Twitter, judges selected Jason and Nikki Wynn of Carrolton, Texas to be crowned winners of the Best of the Road Rally.

"We are absolutely thrilled with the work each of the teams put forth during their cross-country journeys, going above and beyond to share the heart of America through these small town visits," said Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally. "This inaugural Best of the Road search has been a tremendous success thanks to the enthusiasm and support of these teams and the towns they visited. We look forward to sharing the results of their journeys when we reveal the wining towns for each category on July 21 at the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) conference in New Orleans, LA."

The Wynn's, both 29, are a married couple who traded in their Dallas home for a life on the road in a fuel-efficient, sustainable RV. Jason, a photographer, and Nikki, a makeup artist, take pride in their travels on their blog, www.gonewiththewynns.net. One of five teams competing in the Best of the Road Rally, the couple was tasked with reviewing the Friendliest category, trekking an impressive 5,000 miles to visit six finalist towns between New York and Los Angeles: Mount Airy, NC; Valdosta GA; Nacogdoches, TX; Woodward, OK; Walla Walla, WA and Lake Havasu, AZ. In each location, they dug deep and captured everyday friendliness, from community member interaction to the hospitality they received from local businesses and residents. They even interviewed local teenagers in each of the towns to gauge their opinions about the places they live, capturing it all with video and photography to share with America on the Best of the Road blog.

WHAT TOWNS WILL BE CROWNED THE BEST OF THE ROAD?

The winning towns will be announced on July 21 at the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) Annual Convention in New Orleans. Top towns will be highlighted on www.bestoftheroad.com and in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas, as well as on USA TODAY's Travel site.

The inaugural Best of the Road Rally promotional sponsors include Saab Cars North America, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, Fleetwood RV, Destination Marketing Association International and Shell.

For more information on Best of the Road contest, visit www.bestoftheroad.com and http://travel.usatoday.com.

About the Best of the Road® – Rand McNally has earned the reputation as a trusted source in maps, directions and travel content with its best-selling Road Atlas and annual Best of the Road online guide. Its celebration of the Great American Road Trip has given way to an online guide of the Best of the Road and features top attractions in more than 20 categories --- from the Best Beach to the Best BBQ. This year, Rand McNally is revving up, in collaboration with USA TODAY, for an all-new the Best of the Road search with content created by travelers online and published in the 2013 Rand McNally Road Atlas. For more information about the Best of the Road, visit www.bestoftheroad.com.

About Rand McNally – Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content. Rand McNally's products and services include interactive travel referral service, Tripology; IntelliRoute® truck routing software and GPS devices; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom. Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today's world. www.randmcnally.com

About USA TODAY – USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Today, through its newspaper, website and mobile platforms, USA TODAY connects readers and engages the national conversation. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of more than 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.9 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than eight million downloads on mobile devices. The USA TODAY brand also includes USA TODAY Education and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

Press Contacts:

Weber Shandwick for Rand McNally
Kristen Insalaco, [email protected], 212-445-8481
Lauren Lane, [email protected], 212-445-8303

USA TODAY
Heidi Zimmerman, [email protected], 703-854-5304