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

Five teams complete four-week cross-country search for the Best Small Towns in America; Winning team awarded $10,000

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Jul 25, 2012, 02:01 ET

SKOKIE, Ill., July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tune in tonight to Travel Channel at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, for a one-hour television special featuring the "Best of the Road." In closing the second annual Best of the Road^® Rally, Rand McNally and USA TODAY announced Two for the Road the winning team in Seattle. At the big reveal, the duo was awarded the title along with a $10,000 check from Rand McNally.

Team Two for the Road, Dusty and Nikki Green from Spicewood, TX, set out to find the Most Beautiful town, trekking an impressive 5,000 miles, to visit six finalist towns between Washington, D.C. and Seattle: Jim Thorpe, PA; Danville, KY; Bardstown, KY; Tybee Island, GA; Sedona, AZ and Baker City, OR. In each location, they captured beauty in all shapes, sizes, landscapes and sunsets. The winning couple was judged by their town reviews, photos and compelling videos posted during their travels and shared on ontheroad.bestoftheroad.com, Facebook and Twitter.

"We wanted to do a good service to all of the towns involved because we are small town kids and we know the value of this national exposure. We wanted each town to get a fair shake and have the material to promote themselves long after the program was over," shared Dusty and Nikki. All of their video and photography is available on the Best of the Road blog.

"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. "The second annual Best of the Road search has been a tremendous success thanks to the enthusiasm and support of these teams and the towns they visited."

THE BEST OF THE ROAD TOWNS
The winning towns will be highlighted on www.bestoftheroad.com and in the 2014 Rand McNally Road Atlas, as well as on USA TODAY's Travel site.

The Best of the Road Rally promotional sponsors include Honda, Choice Hotels and Fleetwood RV.

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 online travel community bestoftheroad.com and RVer microsite bestoftheroad.com/RV; interactive travel referral service, Tripology; America's #1 Road Atlas; and TripMaker® RVND™ GPS for RVers; IntelliRoute® truck routing software and navigation devices; TruckPC and the TND™ 760 Fleet Edition mobile communication solutions for the transportation industry; 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 6.6 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than fourteen 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).

About Travel Channel – TRAVEL CHANNEL (http://www.travelchannel.com) is a multiplatform travel lifestyle brand with the core mission of providing inspiring and compelling programming that takes viewers beyond their everyday destinations, making the unfamiliar familiar, whether it's around the world or around the block. A dual feed network that is also available in HD, Travel Channel is the world's leading travel media brand, and is available in over 94 million U.S. cable homes. Owned and operated by Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), Travel Channel has offices in Chevy Chase, MD, and New York, NY. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI) also owns and operates HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country.

Press Contacts:
Weber Shandwick for Rand McNally
Jessica Parker, [email protected], 212-445-8263
Sadie Ellison, [email protected], 212-445-8153 212-445-8303

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

SOURCE Rand McNally