Dallas & Houston winners announced

DALLAS (TIP): The 2014 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee (www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com) continued its 12-city tour past weekend with events in Dallas and Houston. MetLife, a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, is serving as the event’s title sponsor for the sixth consecutive year. With a huge turnout this year as well, the Bee attracted some top talent as well as young and new spellers that competed for the coveted prizes and titles.

“It is very heartening to see that each year we get fresh faces and new talent which is a continuing testimony to our community’s strength in this craft,” said Rahul Walia, Founder – South Asian Spelling Bee. In Dallas, Vanya Shivashankar from Olathe, KS was the regional champ and Ananya Kodali from Highland Village, TX was the first runner up while Ansun Sujoe from Forth Worth, TX was second runner up. In Houston, Shourav Dasari from Spring, TX was the regional champ and Shobha Dasari from Spring, TX was first runner up while Tanya Roysam from Friendswood, TX was second runner up.

“MetLife congratulates all the spellers who participated in this year’s events,” said Laurel Daring, assistant vice president, Diverse Markets, MetLife. “We’re proud to serve as the Bee’s title sponsor as part of our commitment to the South Asian communities we serve across the country and as a fun, educational contest for the hundreds of students that compete each year.”

Houston Winners: (From L to R) Rahul Walia, Founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee with Second Runner Up Tanya Roysam from Friendswood, TX; Regional Champ Shourav Dasari from Spring, TX and First Runner Up Shobha Dasari from Spring, TX.

Along with MetLife, food brand Kawan and education company C2Education have also come on board as sponsors for this event. As always, SONY Entertainment Television Asia is the exclusive broadcast partner for the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee and will be airing the series across 120 countries. “Kawan is proud to support this platform that helps in the overall growth of the child.We look forward to seeing this year’s talent and are happy to be part of the process to find the best speller from the South Asian community,” said Tim Tan, Director – International Business, Kawan Food, makers of the world’s most popular Roti Paratha Brand in the world – Kawan Paratha.

“C2 Education is very honored to be associated with the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee for the third consecutive year. Seeing the children’s enthusiasm and dedication to succeed is truly inspiring”, said Steve Helgeson, Director of School and Community Partnerships, C2Education. “Once again, we are proud to be associated with the Bee and are looking forward to showcasing the journey in the quest for the best speller.

We look forward to yet another successful year,” said Jaideep Janakiram, Head of North America, Sony Entertainment Television-Asia. The winners received cash prizes of $500, $300 and $200 respectively. Children up to 14 years of age are eligible to participate and the contest saw spellers of even 6 years of age compete and make it past a few rounds. There are 10 more cities on the anvil and for more information and to register your child,
please visitwww.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com.

The top two winners plus one parent each from every city will be given an all expenses paid trip to NJ on August 15 for the FINALS. SONY Entertainment Television Asia is the exclusive broadcast partner for the MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee and will be airing the series across 120 countries. Find us on Facebook at South Asian Spelling Bee and you can follow us on our Twitter handle at Spell South Asian. To reserve your FREE passes to the Finals, please log on towww.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com and fill in your details

About Touchdown Media Inc.:
Touchdown Media Inc. is a specialized South Asian advertising and promotions firm based in New Jersey. Now in its 11th successful year, Touchdown has helped clients- both mainstream and otherwise, reach out to the lucrative South Asian market, Touchdown Media represents more than 35 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.

About MetLife:
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.