HEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY CONTEST: WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!

We get so many letters every day from people who are dying to work at HIGH TIMES that I finally decided to do something about it. So in the August 2009 edition of my column ALMOST INFAMOUS, I announced a contest that would allow one lucky stoner to become an honorary HT "Editor-For-a-Day."  The requirements were simple: a resume, a writing sample and some photos. There was also an option for an extra credit video resume to be posted on http://420.com. Kudos to those few of you who took the time and effort to submit a video. Some of you didn't even submit all of the components required, and lost points as a result.

The deadline for entry was August 1st. I'd received about 20 entries, and then on the last day I received about 20 more (shame on you, you procrastinating stoners!). Because of this, the winner announcement which was originally scheduled for August 15th had to be postponed until today. I've spent the past several weeks poring over every single entry, weighing and scoring each person's merits based on a number of criteria, including the quality of their writing, resume and cover letter, personality, presentation, effort, experience, commitment, and activism. When I was done, I'd narrowed it down to the following five finalists:

Ariel Shearer from Massachusetts

Jon Prince from Illinois

Chris Schuur from Ohio

Kaylee Burton from Oklahoma

Alisha Fox from Ontario, Canada

After careful consideration and review, I feel that the best candidate to be our Editor For a Day wil be...

K.B. is a 24-year old professional writing and sociology major at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. Her dream is to someday earn a Phd in public policy from Harvard and go into politics. She has an impressive resume that includes the Professional Writing Club and the Magazine Interest Group (for which she attended a magazine industry conference in New York), and has written press releases that have been picked up by major news organizations. In addition, she's volunteered at numerous charitable institutions, and is the founder and president of the OU chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). She's also blogged on stonernation.com, and the 1000-word essay she submitted entitled "Marijuana Prohibition and the Sway of The Majority" was informative, well-constructed and just the kind of drug war journalism we look for in a young writer. Plus she submitted a very cool, well-edited video resume, and plans to attend the Cannabis Cup this November. What more could we ask for?

K.B. will now come to NYC in early October and spend a day working alongside the HIGH TIMES staff, learning about how the magazine is put together. She'll then be required to submit an article about her experience, which I will edit and publish as my column in an upcoming issue. Her name will appear in that month's masthead, and she'll receive a 1 year subscription and other prizes as well.

Congratulations K.B.! We look forward to meeting you this October.

Highest regards,

Bobby