Philip D. Brown/Daily Journal Daily Journal Publisher and Editor Rick Bacon displays “The Golden Seashell,” which will earn some lucky reader a stack of $100 bills to help cool down this summer.

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For the third straight year, Daily Journal readers will have the chance to start the summer off on a lucky, and profitable, note in the paper’s “Golden Seashell Hunt” contest.

For those who’ve never participated, the concept is simple. The Golden Seashell will be hidden at a public-friendly place in the county with clues appearing in the Daily Journal, and partnering merchants, to lead astute readers to its location.

The first to solve the puzzle and find the shell will find themselves $500 the richer.

Daily Journal Publisher and Editor Rick Bacon explained Monday the seashell is a reminder of the beach, and all the summer fun longer days and warmer weather promise to bring.

”Someone is going to have a little brighter vacation,” he said. “I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t like an extra $500 in their billfold come vacation time.”

Previous seashell hunts have garnered quite a response from the community, Bacon explained, but there are certain places where there is no need to bother looking.

“There are some places we wouldn’t hide it,” Bacon explained. “Among those are cemeteries and places where you could put yourself in danger getting to the seashell. You won’t find it in a divided highway median, for example, nor will you find it behind a fence or on property marked ‘Private,’ or ‘No Trespassing.’”

Everyone is encouraged to participate, but some rules do apply:

• The person finding the seashell must bring it to the Daily Journal office during regular business hours. In addition to bringing the shell, they must also bring the official authorization form, located inside the seashell, to verify its authenticity.
• Claiming the prize authorizes the Daily Journal to use your name and picture in a news story.
• Clues will appear on a page of the Daily Journal 12 times between today and June 19.
• Clues will be posted at participating stores 24 hours before they are published in the newspaper.
• If no one finds the seashell after 12 clues, one additional page will be published with a clue that leads people to the hiding spot.
• The shell will be visible without moving any permanent structures, but may be obscured by grass, leaves or debris.
• There is only one authentic Daily Journal Golden Seashell Hunt seashell.
• Clues are available only by purchasing the newspaper or visiting a participating store.
• If someone finds the seashell before the 10th clue runs, the Daily Journal will accept entries from a blank entry form published on each of the remaining pages until the 12 pages have run. The entries will be for a second chance drawing for $100.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 15, or by e-mail at pbrown@heartlandpublications.com.