The 2014 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee continues its 12-city tour
NY & Boston winners announced

The 2014 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee (www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com) concluded it’s 12-city tour this past weekend with events in NY & Boston. 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.

“We are happy to have concluded our search in all of the 12 cities and even more delighted to see the amount of younger spellers participating this year,” said Rahul Walia, Founder - South Asian Spelling Bee.

In New York, Sanjana Malla, Haverstraw, NY was the regional champ and Muthara Bhuyian, Jericho, NY was the first runner up while Anil Singh from South Ozone Park was second runner up.

In Boston, Arun Jagjivan from West Hartford, CT was the regional champ and Arushi Kalpande from Bellerica, MA was first runner up while Anirudh Iyer from Shrewsbury, MA was second runner up.

Like in DC & NJ, the regional cash prizes of $500 to the champ, $300 to the first runner up and $200 to the second runner up were awarded by Associate sponsor Kawan Paratha.

“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.”

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.

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 4 more cities on the anvil and for more information and to register your child, please visit www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com.

The top two winners 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 to www.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.

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