PORTLAND, Maine — In the glare of the investigation the Center Lovell Inn essay contest provoked, other Maine land holders and innkeepers launching similar initiatives are becoming more vigilant but are undeterred in their belief the contests are fair.
“It puts the onus on us to make sure what we are running is a fair contest,” said Sarah Pebworth, owner of the Blue Hill Inn, an 1830s bed-and-breakfast that soon will be up for grabs for 200 words and $150.
Pebworth planned to start her contest June 15 but held back to allow for online submissions. Now she is “streamlining things and stepping back to iron it out.”
“It’s disappointing,” Pebworth said of the heightened scrutiny by regulators that cast a shadow on the concept. “My intention is to make this an avenue for someone who wouldn’t otherwise be able to buy into it.”
However, Pebworth read through the concerns of participants of the Center Lovell Inn contest, such as inconsistent rules on different media platforms, and is undeterred.
“I still see this as an avenue to pay it forward,” she said. “If it means I have to spend more time with my lawyer to make it so, then I will.”
Those who know Center Lovell Inn owner Janice Sage say they are not worried about the legality of her contest.
“I suspect nothing is going to come of this,” said Bil Mosca, who bequeathed Sage the inn more than 20 years ago in the same fashion. “She couldn’t have gotten the inn to where the inn is without being a class act, and it will pass over. I’m looking forward to meeting the new innkeepers.”
Mosca wrote a book called “Passing Along A Dream” on the concept and now runs a successful consulting business to help others do the same.
“I came up with it, and it worked brilliantly,” said Mosca, who added this creative method to sell a property is not for everyone. “If you don’t know what you are doing, you can get yourself in trouble. That’s why people come to me before going full steam ahead.”
Martha Manchester, a lobster broker from Edgecomb, launched a contest in October to unload 47 acres of woods in Whitefield for $100 and the right essay. She recently extended the Maine Land Essay contest until July 25 because of lack of interest. To keep things above board, she contacted those who entered and told them. If they disapproved of the extension, she returned their money. She heard about the Center Lovell Inn controversy Tuesday but isn’t concerned.
“I am not doing anything illegal, so I am not worried about it. They can investigate me all they want,” Manchester said.
Manchester is holding out hope that enough people will submit inventive ideas for the land, which she bought in 1995, and she can move on.
A few years ago she heard about a family in the Camden/Rockland area who launched a similar contest. “I didn’t know about the Lovell Inn until after I started,” she said.
Manchester plans to funnel a portion of the entry fee to the American Cancer Society.
“You have to win the hearts of the judges. We are looking for something to do something worthwhile with it — a community farming project, not a trailer park.”
To drum up more enthusiasm, she is going to stand in TODAY Plaza at Rockefeller Center in New York City next week with a sign during a taping of NBC’s “Today” show. “I don’t have a lot of money for advertising,” Manchester said.
