HOLLYWOOD — Hollywood singer-songwriter Wes Ryce entered a national “Super Dad” contest on a whim. Six weeks and several rounds later, his kids are cheering him on and he is one wild card win away from the contest’s final group of eight.
Ryce, who fronts the band Wes Ryce & The Vice, finished second in his group by a narrow margin when voting closed Thursday night, he told the Chronicle in an email. That sent him into the contest’s wild card round, where second-place finishers from each group compete for one spot in the quarterfinals. Wild card voting runs through Sunday night, Oct. 18, at 10 p.m.
“At first I thought, this is cheesy,” Ryce wrote. “When I sent it to my fam, my kids got hype about it.” He said he slipped from first to second about 20 minutes before voting ended, briefly saw himself back in first in the final minute, then dropped back to second.
How the contest works
The Super Dad competition is run by Colossal, a professional fundraising firm, on behalf of Action Initiative Team, a 501(c)(3) charity that grants the money raised to Children’s Miracle Network, which supports children’s hospitals. The grand prize is a $25,000 honorarium plus a spot in an Ace Hardware television commercial and a trip for the winner and a guest, valued in total at $32,500, according to the official rules.
Anyone can cast one free vote every 24 hours after verifying through Facebook or another eligibility check. Voters 18 and older can also buy extra votes with donations; Ryce said votes are sold in bundles starting at $10 for 10. Contestants cannot buy votes for themselves.
Not every donated dollar reaches the hospitals. Under the rules, up to 36.5% of donations goes to a competition fee, up to 12.5% to variable costs and 1% to Action Initiative Team, meaning at least half of each donation goes to Children’s Miracle Network. Donations are not refundable.
What comes next
Votes reset at the start of each new round. If Ryce wins the wild card, he moves into the quarterfinals, which run Oct. 19-29, followed by semifinals from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 and finals Nov. 6-12. The rules say the grand prize winner will be announced on or before Dec. 10.
Ryce said he wants people to know where the money goes and is exploring ways to team up with local businesses whose donations would both support Children’s Miracle Network and boost his vote count.
