Little Debbie collects smiles

GENTRY — It may seem an impossible task to collect smiles, but that's what McKee Foods Corporation is doing through its Million Smile Mission, and that mission came toGentry's Little Debbie Store on Thursday.

Felicia Hatcher of Delray Beach, Fla., and Paul Cantillon of Boston, Mass., were in Gentry Thursday with an Airstream travel trailer parked in front of the Little Debbie Store, and they were collecting smiles andworking toward the goal of the million smile mark.

Hatcher and Cantillon were taking digital photos of Little Debbie Store patrons, and anyone else willing to participate, and giving them a Little Debbie snack. The smiling photographs are thenadded to a mosaic of smiles on the Little Debbie Web site, making up an image of Little Debbie. By providing an e-mail address, participants can go to the Little Debbie site and zoom in on their own smile in the large mosaic image.

Hatcherand Cantillon and the smile collecting team have been on the road collecting smiles for two months, Hatcher said. The tour is scheduled to continue for four months, with their next stop in Kingman, Ariz. As of Thursday, the MillionSmile Mission seemed well on course with about 650,000 smiles collected.

For those who missed the opportunity to stop by the Little Debbie Store and offer a smile, there is still opportunity to submit a smile. Those wishing to participate in the missioncan go online to littledebbie.com and upload a smile photograph.

Participants will have a chance to win the Airstream 16-foot sport traveltrailer and other prizes, including Kodak cameras, printers and digital picture frames. Daily prizes are offered to those entering the giveaway from Facebook.

“At Little Debbie, we're on a mission to make a million people smile,” the Little Debbie Web site states. “So join our Million Smile Mission tour aswe travel across America or add your photo to our Million Smile Mosaic … when you share a Little Debbie snack, you share a smile.”