NEW JERSEY (TIP): The South Asian Spelling Bee, now sponsored by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) with its acquisition of MetLife’s Premiere Client Group, continues its legacy in its ninthyear (www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com) .

In the Spelling Bee’s quest to find the best spellers in the South Asian community, families arrived this past weekend to participate in the day long regionals in Atlanta and Charlotte.

In the Atlanta Regional, Sreeniketh Vogoti (13) of Saint Johns, Florida was the regional champ, NavyaMurugesan (14) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the first runner up, and Pavani Chittemsetty(10) of Bentonville, Arkansas, was second runner up.

In Seattle, Snehaa Ganesh Kumar (13) from Folsom, California was named regional champ, Siyona Mishra(12) from Orlando, Florida was first runner up, and Akshra Paimagam (13) of Charlotte, North Carolina, wasthe second runner-up.

The South Asian Spelling Bee is designed to attract top talent and new spellers and to encourage participants as young as five to interact with other spellers; gain stage confidence; acquire camera savvy;and compete for coveted prizes and titles.

The event is open to children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age. It gives them the opportunity totest their spelling skills within their core peer group. Interested spellers should have their parent or guardianregister them online at www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com.

Organized by Touchdown Media Inc., the South Asian Spelling Bee is conducted in 12 locations across theUnited States starting June 11. Regional level events will be held in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. Metro, New Jersey, New York and Boston.

In addition, Accra, Ghana, was announced as the thirteenth location from which spellers of South Asiandescent will qualify for the finals. All events are free to attend and open to the public.

“It’s been a great experience building this platform, and we as a team now look forward to this new inningwith MassMutual to further expand and create a veritable platform for the community,” said Rahul Walia,founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee and CEO of Touchdown Media Inc.

“We are excited to be part of the Spelling Bee program,” said Wonhong Lee, Assistant Vice President,Diverse Markets, MassMutual Financial Group. “We understand this event emphasizes the importance ofeducation within the South Asian community. It naturally aligns with MassMutual’s mission to providefinancial education and promote financial health in the communities we serve.”

The top two spellers of each regional competition will advance to the August finals in New Jersey. As in previous years, the $10,000 champion’s grand prize will be awarded to the top winner.