HAMPTON - If you haven't supported Lake Warren State Park's efforts to win a national contest and some much-needed grant monies, it's not too late.
Lowcountry residents - and friends all over the nation - have until Tuesday, Sept. 6 to go online and vote Lake Warren as "America's Favorite Park" as part of Coca-Cola's America Is Your Park campaign geared to get families playing outside this summer.
Driven by an energetic Facebook and community campaign, Harry Hafer, park manager at the modest-sized park located in central Hampton County, has big dreams. So far Lake Warren has earned hundreds of thousands of votes and is currently in eighth place in the nation but closing on No. 7 pretty fast.
"Show your Palmetto Pride and vote for Lake Warren State Park!" says Hafer. "We are the only South Carolina park in the top ten! Lake Warren has cut the lead of 7th and 6th almost in half since Friday so keep the votes coming. Our voting pool is good we just need to keep expanding. As Yogi Berra said ‘It ain't over til it's over'."
A $100,000 recreation grant will be awarded to the winner by the Coca-Cola Live Positively initiative. The campaign was developed in collaboration with the National Park Foundation, America's State Parks and the National Recreation and Park Association.
"Last year, millions of Americans showed their passion for their favorite parks by voting, so this year we've raised the stakes - more parks can win and there are more ways to vote," said L. Celeste Bottorff, Vice President, Living Well, Coca-Cola North America. "We're asking people to be ‘digital' by voting online for their favorite park and then get ‘physical' by getting out and having fun with us this summer."
You can go to LivePositvely.com to help Lake Warren win big with just the click of a button. The three parks that receive the most votes by Sept. 6 will be awarded recreation grants in the following amounts: First Place - $100,000; Second Place - $50,000; and, Third Place - $25,000. These grants will help restore, rebuild or enhance recreation areas in parks where people can play and be active.
The campaign also encourages people to attend active healthy living events at local parks in select cities this summer. Additionally, people can watch, download and share fitness-in-the-park videos from LivePositively.com featuring fitness icon Jake Steinfeld, founder of "Body By Jake."
Last year, thanks to more than 1.6 million votes cast by its supporters, Bear Head Lake State Park in Ely, Minnesota, was named "America's Favorite Park." The park is using the recreation grant to build a new warming hut to ensure safety and comfort for winter sports enthusiasts all season long.
To vote for Lake Warren, visit www.livepositively.com, and look below for voting instructions.

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS
Join the Lake Warren State Park's push for the Title of America's Favorite Park
Go to www.livepositively.com
Click on "vote for your park"
The new screen will have a map of the US covered w/ blue pins
1) Search For Park: go to ZIP and type 29924
hit the red GO button. The screen will clear and you will see a red pin for Lake Warren.
2) Click on the pin - click on the red "vote for this park"
3) Type in the Letter/number code and click ‘SUBMIT'
4) Click ‘BACK TO MAP' and repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 as often as you wish - 10 minutes or more
Helpful tips: codes are NOT case sensitive. The codes do not include 1, 0, A, E, I, O, U, N or Z.
You can create an account if you wish and log in each time you and add pictures (5 votes each) If you click the red pin the total vote will update to see how we are doing -
Let us Know How you are doing! lwarrensp@scprt.com