Eden in Love owner Tanna Dang may lead an expedition to Africa to help a village on its way to self-sustainability, now that she has won the National Retail Federation’s top prize of $25,000 in a video contest. "I’m pretty sure we’re going to Africa," she said, and will soon be finalizing details.

The first-place win was announced at a two-day NRF conference in Washington, D.C.

"I’m so excited," Dang said, just after meeting Hawaii’s Congressional delegation, who congratulated her along with her husband and co-founder, Bryson, General Manager (and sister) Tessa Gomes and Marketing Director Michelle Fujii.

At the conference, the four met executives with national and regional chains and small-business owners, who told of being inspired by Eden in Love’s charitable giving and the staff effort that goes along with it.

"The biggest thing for me was realizing these large companies and small companies were taking to heart my message that retail gives us the opportunity to give back," she said.

A regional retailer told her after seeing the video that he had committed to raising $3 million for the Susan G. Komen foundation.

The first ever NRF video contest had "This is Retail" as its theme and the video submitted by Eden in Love, depicting its mission to give back to the community through monthly fundraising events, was in the running against bakeries, wine shops, collectibles retailers and large department stores, which also submitted videos.

Dang’s video was named a top-20 finalist in April and went on to online balloting in which more than a million votes were cast.

Eden in Love was named a top 3 finalist May 1, in position to win $10,000, $15,000 or $25,000, but the ranking would not be revealed until Wednesday’s NRF meeting.

Florida’s Kim Williams of The Polka Dot press came in second place and took home $15,000 and Illinois’ Susan Kaufman was awarded $10,000 for third place.

The video contest is part of the NRF’s "Retail Means Jobs" campaign, which brings to light the importance of retail as job-creator, as well as emphasizes retail’s contributions to our economy, said Kathy Grannis, NRF media relations director.

Whether another video contest will be undertaken next year, "we’re certainly considering the options at this point. It’s been a great success."