Teleflora, the world’s leading floral wire service, and NBC today revealed the 15 semi-finalists in the nationwide search for America’s Favorite Mom.  The inspirational stories of the three top moms in each of the five categories – military moms, working moms, single moms, “Non-mom” moms and “Chairman of Everything” moms – will be featured on NBC’s “Today” show May 5 through May 9 during the 9 o’clock hour.  Each day, America will vote on who will continue into the final round. The winning mom will be crowned during the primetime television special, “Teleflora presents America’s Favorite Mom,” airing on Mother’s Day Sunday, May 11 at 7 p.m. EDT. 

Gwendolyn Beauchamp (Lancaster, TX) is a stay-at-home mother of five, Beauchamp has supported her family through hard times despite being diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC).  Beauchamp will be featured on "Today" on Friday, May 9.  Fourteen other semi-finalists were selected from more than 15,000 online nominations collected at AmericasFavoriteMom.com.

A panel of experts that included Stacy Morrison, editor-in-chief of Redbook Magazine, Sally Lee, editor-in-chief of Parents Magazine, and Sabrina Weill, Editor-in-Chief of Momlogic.com, helped to narrow the pool.  Semi-finalists were notified when a local Teleflora florist personally delivered the specially-designed America’s Favorite Mom bouquet, the true centerpiece of Teleflora’s America’s Favorite Mom search, to each of their homes.

“We were just in awe of the thousands of amazing moms nominated on AmericasFavoriteMom.com – there were so many inspirational and heartfelt submissions,” said Lynda Resnick, chairman, Teleflora.  “Now it’s time for America to decide who among these incredible mothers should be crowned ‘America’s Favorite Mom’.”

Viewers can tune-in to the “Today” show, the week of May 5 to learn more about these semi-finalists and vote for their favorite mom each day on www.NBC.com.  A different category will be highlighted every day:  military moms, Monday, May 5; working moms, Tuesday, May 6; single moms, Wednesday, May 7; “non-mom” moms, Thursday, May 8; and “chairman of everything” moms, Friday, May 9.  Donny and Marie Osmond will appear on the May 5show to kick-off the competition.

The five mothers with the greatest percentage of votes will take part in “Teleflora presents America’s Favorite Mom,” an NBC prime-time television event hosted by Donny and Marie Osmond.  The one-hour show will feature an exclusive duet by the celebrity siblings and a special performance by Sony/Epic artists The D.E.Y. performing their new single "She Said,” a heartfelt ode to mothers.  Editor-in-Chief of Redbook Magazine Stacy Morrison, who was a print sponsor of the nationwide search, will also make a guest appearance in the show. 

The program will include a special tribute to 100-year-old Opal Trundle, who was born on the first Mother’s Day, May 11, 1908.  Opal raised six children during the great depression and has 96 grandchildren.  In addition, there will be special cameo appearances by Christina Aguilera, Tony Hawk, Alicia Keys, Hulk Hogan, Naomi Judd, Amy Poehler and more throughout the broadcast.  At the end of the special, the Osmonds will crown one lucky winner, “America’s Favorite Mom.”

Teleflora will present the grand prize winner with $250,000, an America’s Favorite Mom diamond encrusted pendant and a year’s worth of Teleflora flower arrangements.  The winning mom will also receive a REDBOOK “Love Your Life” all-expense paid trip to New York City, including a beauty makeover and spa treatment, courtesy of Redbook Magazine, a family vacation package to St. Lucia, courtesy of Coconut Bay and all-new General Electric kitchen and laundry appliances.  Teleflora will present the four runners-up with $25,000, a gold pendant, a year’s worth of Teleflora flower arrangements and a General Electric washer and dryer.

“Moms all over can relate to the hard work and sacrifices that go into raising a family, and we want to tell their stories through this television tribute to moms,” said Doug Vaughan, senior vice president, special programs and alternative development, NBC Entertainment.  “Through uplifting stories and great performances, this special is bound to tug at your heart strings.”