It’s traveled around the world, but the EXPO Rally Towel that took the top place in APTA’s Facebook-based contest never left its own hometown.

Valley Metro Rail in Phoenix received the grand prize—one round-trip airfare to New Orleans and one room at the EXPO host hotel for three nights during the 2011 APTA Annual Meeting and EXPO, along with one Annual Meeting registration—for showing METRO light rail staff from all departments (and the towel) playing tug-of-war with one of the system’s 50 light rail vehicles at the Operations and Maintenance Center.

Three other public transportation agencies each earned $100 American Express Gift Cards for their entries. These photos will appear in subsequent issues of Passenger Transport.

Public transit professionals entered the contest by clicking “like” on APTA’s Facebook page and uploading photos that included the Rally Towel. Among the other notable settings for the towel were the Great Wall of China, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Grand Cayman Island.

All entries can be found here.