ThorpyFX x GPX Give-Away finally draws to a close as we celebrate worthy Grand Prize Winner Ronald Prokes, there is still some Drama remaining though!

So the good news is that main winner Ronald Prokes has finally received his Prize Package - after a somewhat fraught and complicated journey. I was almost at the point of re-drawing the Grand Prize as I had not managed to get through to Ronald for the best part of a month. I persevered though, and contact was finally made just in time. Several readers / followers had gotten their hopes up that there would be another draw for the Grand Prize - but fortunately for me, and Ronald of course - that did not need to happen.

Once I had the address details and had shipped the packages - I thought that the complicated part was over, but then it really was touch and go that Ronald would actually receive his package. In fact at one stage I received a tracking note from USPS which said that the packages was about to be returned to sender!

This really highlights the difficulty of delivering packages into secure apartment complexes / blocks / buildings - as there’s a lot that the couriers need to navigate. To add to the complexity - Ronald was rarely at home during that period, and the regional USPS Sorting Office seemed to be initially unwilling to deliver the package into a local post-office for pickup. While Ronald patiently persevered too - and as evidenced by the above picture - finally got his hands on his Prize!

A further sting in the tail though was that another apartment complex delivery for one of the runner-up prizes somehow failed - probably for similar reasons that almost scuppered the Grand Prize. So the package sent to Christopher Bennet ended up back on my doorstep - around a month after it was shipped out!

The Give-Away was generally well received - with entrants from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and The United States.

The largest numbers of entrants came from the USA (36%), followed by the UK (27%), France (7%), Australia (5.5%), Germany (5.5%) and Canada (3.7%). Winners were randomly drawn by Random.Org - and per statistical deviation and laws of averages those winners seem rather skewed towards one county in particular - but that’s how Random often works! It would have been more convenient for me had the winners been drawn slightly closer to home - but I’m delighted that I could reach into people’s lives so far and wide! I have loyal followings in most countries now - so some of the countries missing from the list of entrants also seems a little odd!