1. One applicant will be tapped to be the Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder -- a part-time, one month, independent contractor assignment. The dates of assignment will be April 12th through May 11th, 2010. Duties of the Discoveries Pathfinder include traveling to Peru and hiking the Inca Trail with a Zephyr Adventures group from April 17 to April 25, 2010; starring in videos created during the trip -- while discussing Firestone's Discoveries wines and showing incredible views from the Inca Trail Trek; filing post-trip reports on the Firestone Discoveries website; and reporting online about pairing Firestone wines with various dishes after the trip. A minimum of 15 blog posts will be required to fulfill the obligations of the agreement.
  2. The Pathfinder will be paid a fee of $1000, 1/2 to be received after the trip report is filed and accepted by Firestone Wines and 1/2 to be received at the end of the 4 weeks. The Discoveries Pathfinder's expenses will be paid on the trip to Peru and will include: international and domestic airfare, double occupancy lodging, camping equipment, trail passes, and most meals. Not included are a few meals on your own and any personal expenditures. Upon return home, the Pathfinder will also receive various recipes and an assortment of Firestone Discoveries wines to be used in creating unique food and wine pairings.
  3. The application process runs through December 14th, 2009. 10 applications will be chosen at random from those submitted. From the 10 random applications, three will be chosen via a selection process to include personal interviews, background checks, submission of resumes, writing samples and photographs. Selection criteria will include -- with roughly equal weighting -- writing skills, verbal and personal presentation skills, and overall enthusiasm. The three semi-finalists will travel to Firestone Winery in mid December -- at our expense -- for a final series of interviews, using the same criteria as the semi-final round to determine the candidate who will be selected as the Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder. The lucky winner will be selected by January 11, 2010.
  4. To be eligible to win, you must complete an application, provide a 50-word statement on why you would be the most effective DiscoveriesPathfinder, and become a Fan of the Firestone Discoveries page on Facebook. No purchase or blogging experience is necessary.
  5. To increase your chances of winning, you can refer your friends to the Firestone Discoveries website using email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. For each friend you refer who applies for the Discoveries Pathfinder position, you receive one extra chance at having your name drawn to be a semi-finalist.
  6. The full Legal Terms and Disclaimers are available for your reading pleasure.