WASHINGTON—In recognition of America Saves Week, the American Bankers Association Foundation announced today the three national winners for its 2016-2017 Lights, Camera, Save! video contest. The winning videos were revealed through a live broadcast on the association’s YouTube channel.
The judging panel, which consisted of personal finance and communications experts, awarded Catie Tomasello of Land O’Lakes, Fla. the grand prize for her video, “Saving for the Future.” Tomasello was a national finalist after winning the local contest at Community Bank in Miramar Beach, Fla.
“Through her creativity and impressive animation skills, Catie highlights the importance of saving and smart money management,” said Corey Carlisle, executive director of the ABA Foundation. “Her video will be a fantastic tool in inspiring other students to make saving a priority.”
“We’re so excited that Catie’s fantastic work is being recognized on the national level,” said Jason Crowe, Florida market president of Community Bank. “We hope her video will drive home the value of savings to teens all throughout Florida and across the country.”
The Lights, Camera, Save! judging panel awarded the national grand prizes as listed below:
First Place Winner—$5,000
Saving for the Future
Catie Tomasello (Florida Virtual School, Land O’Lakes, Fla.)
Community Bank (Miramar Beach, Fla.)
Second Place Winner—$2,500
Temptation’s Thirst
Matthew Post (Sherwood High School, Sandy Spring, Md.)
Congressional Bank (Bethesda, Md.)
Third Place Winner—$1,000
Mr. Big Cash Money
Matthew Walak (Natick High School, Natick, Mass.)
Milford Federal Savings & Loan Association (Milford, Mass.)
The ABA Foundation will also award a scholarship for a teacher from each winning school to attend the 2017 Jump$tart National Educator Conference.
Lights, Camera, Save!, which launched in 2010 as an offshoot of the ABA Foundation’s Teach Children to Save program, is a unique competition that encourages kids to use video to communicate the value of saving and motivate their peers. Banks hosted 144 contests in 48 states and Washington, D.C. for the local levels of the competition and selected a winner to represent their bank to compete at the national level. Carlisle attributes Lights, Camera, Save!’s success to the bankers’ efforts in promoting and hosting the contest locally.
For the second year in a row, the Lights, Camera, Save! contest is sponsored by Discover® Debit, a debit card program offered to banks by Discover Financial Services.
Note to Editors: View the grand prize announcement video and national finalists: www.youtube.com/user/americanbankersassn.