Heavy Hallmark Channel just named its #1 fan.
Jenny Forwark was floored when she opened her front door to find a team of people from Hallmark Media on her lawn holding balloons and celebratory signs, ready to crown her Hallmark’s number one fan — literally. Announcing Forwark’s big win on June 28, 2023, they not only placed a tiara on her head, but awarded the school librarian with a $10,000 prize and named her their “Chief Fan Officer.”
Forwark did submit a video to be considered for the honor, but wasn’t expecting to win. In her Instagram Stories that day, she wrote, “I was beyond surprised. I had NO CLUE!”
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A school librarian for the past 13 years, Forwark runs her own Hallmark fan blog and wrote on her site that she has a seven-year-old daughter “who is perfect in every way” and is “looking for my own Hallmark Husband.”
Hallmark announced the contest in the spring of 2023, inviting the network’s biggest fans to send in submissions from May 13 to April 27. Entrants had to submit a letter of up to 500 words on why they love Hallmark Channel, a video of two minutes or less and three to five photos to show their level of fandom.
In Forwark’s submission video, she showed herself in multiple settings, from her school library to a cozy nook at home.
“For at least two decades, I have cherished Hallmark films,” she said in her video. “In a world of uncertainty, I find solace in watching my beloved Hallmark movies set in comforting communities where everyone is looking out for you and love is always worth the battle.”
She added, “The movies bring me so much joy and everyone in my life knows about my extreme admiration for Hallmark because I talk about Hallmark constantly.”
Whenever Forwark watches Hallmark movies, she said, she takes notes on the backdrops, set designs, and dialogue because “every scene is a one-of-a-kind work of art.” She also noted that Hallmark movies helped her process her recent divorce.
“My life is a Hallmark movie,” she said, sharing that as her marriage ended, her loved ones expected her to be upset and bitter, but instead she used the “lessons” she’s learned from Hallmark movies to approach the situation with “grace and love.”
“Thinking of how a Hallmark movie would handle this new life was a big source of my healing,” she said.
What Does It Mean to Be Hallmark’s Chief Fan Officer?
As the winner, Forwark receives a $10,000 check plus another $2,400 to cover taxes. In a video filmed for the Chief Fan Officer Instagram account, she said she’s looking forward to connecting in-depth with other Hallmark fans during her reign.
“I can’t wait to facilitate it, I can’t wait to listen to it, I can’t wait to be in on it,” she exclaimed. “I’m excited to be a part of the Hallmark fan community. There’s so many of us and I am so beyond thankful and honored to represent the Hallmark fans.”
Forwark succeeds Hallmark’s first-ever Chief Fan Officer, Taborah Adams of North Carolina, who won the inaugural contest in April 2022, according to WRAL News. The singer inadvertently captured video of the Hallmark team setting up for their big surprise outside her door on her Ring camera, which she shared on TikTok.
In addition to receiving a cash prize, Adams received Hallmark goodies throughout the year and got to host a private Hallmark movie theater screening in October for friends and family in her hometown. They saw “Jolly Good Christmas” starring Will Kemp and Reshma Shetty several weeks before it premiered on Hallmark Channel.