Toyota 4Runner contest winner turns dream into outdoor retreat

USA Today

13 hours ago

For most people, a sleepless night might be something they'd just as soon forget.
But for Lauren Paulet-Miller, a sleepless night, or at least what she did when confronted with one, turned into what is likely to be a life-changing event.
Paulet-Miller, 26, was named the winner on July 30 of a unique contest from Toyota Motor North America. She scored a new 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro and enough money — $95,000 — to buy a piece of land, so she can combine a love of the outdoors with her desire to connect people to nature.
'My intention is to make it a little bit of a retreat space where I can introduce people to camping and get them feeling more comfortable with the outdoors,' said Paulet-Miller, who grew up in Miami and sees an opportunity in the area she now calls home, near Hagerstown, Maryland, which she noted has a growing Latino population that may lack access to nature. 'There's a lot of barriers that keep people from my community from having those meaningful outdoor experiences so I'm hoping I can use the space to educate people of all races and backgrounds on the outdoors and how to experience the outdoors safely.'
Paulet-Miller, who works as a sustainability outreach coordinator for the city of Frederick, Maryland, happened to stumble on the Toyota 4Runner Landia contest on Instagram one sleepless night earlier this year. Rather than simply passing by the ad for the contest as she might normally be inclined to do, she fired off an essay and entered the contest, which, according to Toyota, drew more than 25,000 entries in April and May.
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Her essay topic?
'I wrote 250 words about wild and wonderful West Virginia.'
Spots in West Virginia figured prominently in the outdoors excursions Paulet-Miller recounted during a recent conversation with the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, including for a lengthy backpacking trip with Remy, her 11-pound Yorkie poo, and the Mountain State is likely to be where she picks for her land prize.
Delia Lopez, a spokesperson for Conill, Toyota's partner for the campaign, said that in narrowing down the top entries for the contest, 'we looked for stories that captured the 4Runner's spirit in a grounded way. We leaned towards submissions that embraced the full vision of the prize — those that saw the land as more than a backdrop, and the 4Runner as the key to making their dream come true. The most compelling entries picture a life of exploration, awe in nature and belonging.'
Paulet-Miller was awaiting delivery of her new vehicle, which she chose in Mudbath (a special color for 2025 that Toyota's Cynthia Barreras compared to hot chocolate), but she's already making plans for it, such as adding a rooftop camper. She's been off-roading before, in Utah, and even rented a camper van to explore parts of New Zealand last year as part of her honeymoon.
But Paulet-Miller hopes the new 4Runner will take her adventuring to a new level. With a sticker price of $68,400, it will also be a change from her current vehicles, a Subaru Forester and another Toyota, a 2002 Corolla with more than 200,000 miles.
For Paulet-Miller, that sleepless night is still having an effect.
'I feel like I'm in a dream, and I haven't woken up from it,' she said.
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