A Dunkirk couple is climbing the leaderboard in a national contest that celebrates real-life love stories — and benefits two charities along the way.
Scott and Lori, longtime Southern Maryland residents, are competing in “America’s Favorite Couple,” a nationwide public-voting competition hosted by the fundraising platform Colossal. The contest offers one winning couple a $20,000 prize, an appearance in a Variety magazine advertorial, and a dinner date in the Hollywood Hills with actors Jeff and Emilie Goldblum.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support of our family, friends, and community who have helped us reach this milestone,” the couple said in a statement earlier in the competition. They’ve since advanced further — as of this week, Lori and Scott are ranked 5th in their group in the Group Finals round, with voting open through Thursday, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m. Pacific time.
The contest is operated by Colossal on behalf of AIT (Action Initiative Trust), a registered public charity that grants donations to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Oceana. Fans can cast one free vote every 24 hours, and optional tax-deductible donations unlock additional votes in support of those causes.
For Scott and Lori, the contest is also a chance to retell a love story more than three decades in the making. The two met at Lori’s workplace, where a passing hello turned into long conversations every time Scott stopped by. When Lori finally invited him to lunch, he had to rush off — but promised “next time.” He then didn’t return for a month, long enough that Lori wondered if she’d imagined their connection. When he finally came back and asked her to lunch, it stuck. One year later, they were married.
Their favorite memory together, they say, is Scott’s unconventional proposal. The two were house hunting when he turned to her and said, “Well… you know… will you?” Lori, caught off guard, asked, “Will I what?” The moment wasn’t fully sealed until dinner with Scott’s father that night, when Scott asked, “Did you tell them what I asked you?” They married six weeks later — exactly one year after their first date, on July 16.
“I knew within a week that I was going to marry her. I even told my boss,” Scott said. Lori said she felt something similarly certain early on: “We could talk for hours on the phone. I never wanted the conversation to end. There was just something about him that felt like home.”
The couple has lived in Dunkirk since May 1999. Both grew up in Prince George’s County and raised their two sons in Calvert County. Asked what they’d do with the $20,000 grand prize, they said they’d pay off debt, invest in their future, and take a getaway together — “because the best memories we’ve made have always been together.”
“After all these years, we’re still best friends,” the couple said. “We still love to laugh, we still love an adventure, and we still love simply being together.”
Their first date fell on July 16, 1992; they married on July 16, 1993 — a date they’ve now marked twice.
Voters can support Lori and Scott, and the two charities the contest benefits, at americasfavcouple.org/2026/lori-and-scott.
