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PRESS RELEASE Champion announced for South Asian Spelling Bee August 16, 2008 -Matthew Evans of Albuquerque, New Mexico, spelt the word Biloculine to clinch the title of the National champion. At a glittering event on August 16, that was taped LIVE for broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television, Evans along with 15 other finalists competed for the title. The event was open to children up to 14 years of age and was held in 8 regional centers across the US. These centers included, New Jersey, DC metro area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The contest was conducted in written and oral format at the regional levels which served as the elimination as well as selection process for the finalists.
After registering their child online at www.southasianspellingbee.com, parents brought them to the designated center and a 25 word written test was administered. Children had to spell 15 or more words correctly to qualify for the afternoon oral round and from there the top three were awarded prize money and the top two qualified for the Finals. From each of these centers, the finalists along with a parent were invited on an all expenses paid trip to the finals in NJ. Overall about 400 children registered to spell amongst all the centers. The event was organized by leading South Asian advertising firm, Touchdown Media Inc., and sponsored by State Farm, Western Union and Makemytrip.com. Sony Entertainment Television is the exclusive rights holder and will be broadcasting the event across the globe in over 150 countries. “I am excited to conclude our search for the champion of the first South Asian spelling Bee and am looking forward to a bigger and better tour next year”, said Rahul Walia, CEO, Touchdown Media Inc and founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee. “Our plan is to introduce this very American contest that some deem as the original reality show, in other regions like UK, UAE and India,” he added. The champion received a $5000 grand prize from Western Union along with the South Asian Spelling Bee trophy. The contest will be conducted annually in June and July months and the 2009 schedule will be announced in October this year. For more information and to keep abreast with the upcoming events, one can log onto www.southasianspellingbee.com. About State Farm: State Farm® insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm’s 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve over 76 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.7 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.” About Western Union: The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global money transfer services. Together with its affiliates, Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, Western Union provides consumers with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. It operates through a network of more than 345,000 Agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original Western Union dates back to 1851.For more information, visit westernunion.com. About MakeMyTrip.com: MakeMyTrip.com is India’s number one online travel company, and offers ‘best-deal comprehensive travel solutions’ to customers. The Company was launched in 2000 for the ‘US-to-India’ travel market and extended operations to India in September 2005, pioneering the Online Travel Industry in the country. In recognition of its superior customer service and best-in-class value proposition, MakeMyTrip was presented the Galileo Express TravelWorld ‘Best Online Travel Agency in India’ Award in 2007. It has also been the recipient of the “Emerging India Award” presented by ICICI Bank & CNBC-TV18, powered by CRISIL for being a medium sized enterprise that has created benchmarks of excellence through their outstanding performance in the Travel and Tourism category. It was voted one of Asia’s hottest technology startups after undergoing a stringent review process, by Red Herring’s editorial team. Red Herring also adjudged MakeMyTrip among the top 100 companies in Asia. About Sony Entertainment Television: Since its launch on the Indian subcontinent in 1995, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has enjoyed rapid success, leading to the establishment of European, North American and African feeds known as SET Asia. SET and SET Asia are now available in over 100 countries. The channels offer their viewers a distinctive blend of entertainment programs 24 hours a day, including cricket, soap operas, dramas, sitcoms, concerts, movies and news. F or more information please visit http://www.setasia.tv. About Touchdown Media Inc.: Touchdown Media Inc., is a specialized South Asian advertising and promotions firm based in New Jersey. Now Its 5th successful year, Touchdown has helped clients- both mainstream and otherwise, reach out to the lucrative South Asian market, Touchdown Media represents more than 25 years of collective experience in this niche market. As a full service ad firm, Touchdown has helped many clients achieve their media and marketing goals within the South Asian Diaspora in the US. For more information, please visit www.touchdown-media.com. Press Contact: NITEKA MOKAL 849.248.4199 |
