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Scottsdale, AZ—Last year, at the 2012 Centurion Show, retailers were invited to compete in Centurion’s New Account Incentive Program, to win cash prizes for opening accounts with new firms they’d never done business with before. Thirty-eight new accounts were opened among the 11 winners, who collected a total of $16,500 in cash prizes.

Winners were, in alphabetical order: Blackman, Ltd., Newport Beach, CA; Capri Jewelers, Richmond, VA; Cotton Club, Houston, TX; Dunkins Diamonds, OH and FL; Jaffe Jewelers, Dayton, Ohio; Jewelry By Design For You, Woodbridge, VA; K-Jons Jewelry, Etascadero, CA; LT Denny Jewelers, Seattle, WA; Mikesell's Fine Jewelry, Hamilton, MT; Roshar Jewelers, Houston, TX; and Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers, Los Angeles, CA.

But how will the winners spend their prize money? The Centurion wanted to know, so we asked the winners. Here’s what some of them said:

• “I’m going to donate it to a fund that’s set up for the ICU nurses that actually kept me alive and were so great.”  Chris DeCapri, Capri Jewelers
• “Looking forward to Centurion 2013, and spending the money on a cruise from Rome to Istanbul through the Black Sea next summer!” Lisa Spain, Cotton Club
• “I will spend the money taking our staff out for an evening! Why not!” Larry Jaffe, Jaffe Jewelers
• “I will now use the $1,000 to pay on their bills! I look forward to January’s show and will try to win again.” Jenny Caro, Jewelry By Design for You
• “I requested Howard send the check to the City of Hope Cancer Center to help build their new Family Center on behalf of our Atascadero Lion’s Club. Lion’s Club International has been one of the largest supporters of City of Hope for decades. I have been involved in the Lion’s Club for over 25 years and also have been a patient of City of Hope. Therefore I thought the winnings would help benefit people throughout the coming years.” Stan Sherwin, K-Jon’s Fine Jewelers
• “We will be treating our staff to a night on the town.” David and Gail Friedman, Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelry

Retailers were requested to turn in a copy of each of their new account purchase orders at the Centurion Show office at the end of each show day to have a chance to win.

"This was a very unique new account incentive program, in that we took a long view on the verification process," noted Howard Hauben, Centurion president. "A retailer had to not only place an order at the show but to confirm it, receive it, and pay for the goods as agreed at the show. You would be amazed at what can happen from the start to the finish of that process. We verified every single order with all of the exhibitors. They were written in what was a months-long process.”

Added Hauben, “We are also quite certain that many other retailers would have qualified for the program but never turned in their orders to us at the show."

Retailers who participated in the program told The Centurion they most likely would have shopped for new lines anyway, but the program was an added incentive to make it a priority. “We got some beautiful new lines that both our staff and clientele are very enthused about. Winning wasn't too bad! But giving us incentive to explore new vendors and lines was a plus as well,” said David and Gail Friedman of Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelry. Stan Sherwin of K-Jon’s Fine Jewelers acknowledged the extra nudge was helpful in making sure he and his wife, Mary, took time to meet new vendors and took a closer look at what they had to offer than just strolling past their windows.

The program will be offered again at Centurion 2013, and Centurion has upped the ante for prizes for the upcoming show. The Grand Prize is a five-night Sparkling Hills Resort Couples Escape, plus $3,000 in cash. The next five runners up win two to three night luxury hotel getaways plus $1,000 in cash; and, the next three runners up will receive Apple iPads.  

For information, click here.

Top image: OC Register.com