COMMUNITY


New Mexico kid is champion of South Asian Spelling Bee

New Jersey: 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 eight 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 the UK, the 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.
State Farm® insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the US, 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. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.”
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. For more information, visit westernunion.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.
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.
Touchdown Media Inc., is a specialized South Asian advertising and promotions firm based in New Jersey. Now in its fifth 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. For more information, please visit www.touchdown-media.com.