Medina computer repair shop hopes scavenger hunt will boost businesses

Provided photo: Pictured from left include Steven Davis, Riki Lake and Joe D’Amore showing a sample of the cards which customers will have to collect to win a scavenger hunt C&H PC is sponsoring during the month of June.

MEDINA – A local computer repair store is ready to give Covid the boot and start promoting local businesses.

C & H PC has announced a scavenger hunt with prizes while encouraging people to walk around and visit local stores.

C & H PC co-owner Joe D’Amore came up with the idea as a way to help the community. While many businesses had to shut down during the pandemic, he and co-owner Steven Davis considered themselves lucky that they were able to keep working for most of the time.

D’Amore and Davis purchased C & H PC in September 2019, barely six months before the pandemic. During the worst months, technician Riki Lake worked from home to serve their customers.

“This contest is a way to get customers’ feet in other stores,” D’Amore said.

“We are not only promoting us, but other small businesses as well,” Lake said.

The scavenger hunt will take place during the month of June. A dozen businesses downtown and in the Medina area have agreed to participate. Those store windows will have a decal in their window with the scavenger hunt logo, identifying them as a participant. Each business will have a limited number of playing cards, on which will be written a different component of a computer, such as ram, hard drive, etc.

Other special cards will be marked with nearly three dozen other various prizes, but there will be only one grand prize.

In addition to winning their own computer, the grand prize winner will be invited to C & H PC to enjoy pizza from Avanti’s while watching the computer being built or they can build the computer with the C & H staff.

Before an entrant visits a participating store, he must download the scavenger calendar from C & H’s website and bring it with him, so the business can validate it with a colored checkmark. Those who do not have a printer can stop by C & H PC at 11089 Park Ave. There is a limit of one playing card per day, to make it fair for everybody.

At the end of each week, C & H PC requests entrants update them on their Facebook page with pictures of their findings. They are reminded to use the hashtag #CHPCScavenger21, so C & H can locate them. One person will be randomly selected to win a prize at the end of the event. Each posting is an entry into the drawing.

All playing cards must be turned in by June 30 to be eligible to win. Of the participating 12 businesses, only four will be announced the first week, with four more added each of the next two weeks.

Davis said all participating businesses have a store front, but not all are necessarily downtown.

Lake said they realize the Medina Area Partnership sponsors some great events, but unlike Ale in Autumn and Wine About Winter, which only adults can participate in, this scavenger hunt is open to any age.

If no one finds all the necessary cards by June 30, D’Amore said they will pick a grand prize winner. The grand prize has an estimated value of $2,000.