CINCINNATI – The votes are in – thousands of them – to choose the favorite videos in the Spellebrity Video Contest. The competition, created by the Scripps National Spelling Bee and its presenting sponsor, Kindle, includes winners in Oneonta, New York, New Haven, Indiana, Harrison, Ohio, Lake Oswego, Oregon, and Cincinnati. After a week of voting by the public, fans chose their favorites from 10 Semifinalists. The winning team members each win the prize of an expenses-paid trip to watch the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee this May 22-27, near Washington, D.C.
Teams of kids from across the country creatively produced videos that spell out how to kindle the love of reading. The Scripps National Spelling Bee and Kindle launched the contest as part of the celebration of National Reading Month in March.
“We want to commend all of the students who took time out of their busy schedules to produce the videos for this first-ever Spellebrity contest,” said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “To see so many kids have such a passion for reading and spelling is phenomenal. And to have thousands of votes cast to express appreciation for those videos and the messages they conveyed is inspiring. We look forward to making Bee Week particularly memorable for our team winners.”
Finalists:
– Mary N. | Oneonta, New York | Oneonta Middle School
– Lexi’s Productions | New Haven, Indiana | St. Peter’s Lutheran School
– The Escape Artists | Harrison, Ohio | Harrison Junior School
– Just Read It | Lake Oswego, Oregon | River Grove Elementary
– Nathan & Nico | Cincinnati, Ohio | Winton Woods Middle School
Prizes:
– The Finalist teams win:
– Economy airfare or train fare for each team member and a parent/guardian
– One standard hotel room at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
– $400 gift card for travel and meal expenses
– Complimentary tickets for each team member and parent/guardian for the National
– Zoo Experience, a Bee-organized tour of Washington, D.C., and the Awards Banquet
– Each member of the Semifinalist teams (10) will receive a Kindle Paperwhite.
Participants of the National Finals will have the chance to view and vote on these five videos during the 2016 Bee Week to select the Champion video. For the winning team, each member will receive $1,000 cash and a Spellebrity trophy.
Key dates:
May 24 – Finalist teams attend Spellebrity Video Premiere along with the participants of the 2016 National Finals
May 24-26 – Finalist teams can attend all of the rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
May 27 – Champion video announced during Scripps National Spelling Bee Awards Banquet
In February, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program, announced Kindle as its presenting sponsor. Both brands are working to elevate the belief that reading, spelling and vocabulary are critically important to a child’s lifelong achievement. With the Spellebrity Video Contest, students used their imagination to combine spelling and reading into a fun and inspiring message.
About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives. Visit spellingbee.com for more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company.
About Scripps:
The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, radio and digital media brands. Scripps is one of the nation’s largest independent TV station owners, with 33 television stations in 24 markets and a reach of nearly one in five U.S. households. It also owns 34 radio stations in eight markets. Scripps also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses, including satire and humor video and web brand Cracked, podcast industry leader Midroll Media and over-the-top video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television shows including “THE LIST” and “The Now” and runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
About Amazon:
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.
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Contacts:
For questions or general inquiries:
513-977-3040
Spellingbee.com/contact
Twitter.com/ScrippsBee
For media inquiries only:
Valerie Miller
Manager, External Communications
513-545-6474
[email protected]