On Oct. 19, Cooperative Living magazine hosted its first-ever Halloween-themed Facebook Live event.

Kara Emery and Tommy Campbell host the Facebook Live event.

During the live event, hosted by Tommy Campbell and Kara Emery, the viewing audience was asked to participate in a series of fun games in order to win Amazon gift card credits.

The grand prize winner of the evening was Choptank Electric Cooperative member Patricia Jackson of Newark, Md. She was randomly selected to receive a $300 Amazon gift card for liking, sharing and commenting during the live event. Jackson says, “I enjoy the recipes in Cooperative Living magazine, along with the stories of small towns and their history. I particularly enjoyed the ‘All Treats, No Tricks’ interactive live event last night. The hosts were very entertaining!!”

But the treats kept coming even after the live event ended. “We wanted everyone to have a chance to win some sort of prize, so we randomly selected a grand prize winner from the replay to get a $200 Amazon gift card,” said Laura Emery, deputy editor and social media coordinator for Cooperative Living magazine.

The replay winner was Rappahannock Electric Cooperative member Donna Baker Baldwin of Rixeyville, in Culpeper County, Va. She was randomly selected for liking, sharing and commenting during the 24 hours following the live event. Baldwin says, “I enjoy looking through Cooperative Living magazine, reading the recipes and learning about different towns in the area. I go directly to the Say Cheese page first!”

Smaller prize winners included members of Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, Community Electric Cooperative, Southside Electric Cooperative, Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.

The live event was a success, reaching an audience of 6,000 people with 2,546 engagements.

Says Steven Johnson, vice president of communications and editor of Cooperative Living magazine. “We received so many comments and messages from viewers expressing how much they enjoyed the live event. Cooperative Living hosts several live events each year as a way to thank readers for their support.”

—Report by Laura Emery, Deputy Editor, VMDAEC