GEICO Names Schwear Grand-Prize Winner in National Safety Belt Poster Contest
WASHINGTON, April 12 -- With his fourth-grade classmates cheering him on, Max Schwear stepped forward at a school assembly recently to accept his award as a grand-prize winner in GEICO's national poster contest. Schwear, a student at Redding Elementary in Redding, Ct., earned top honors in the 9-11 age group by creating a strong message for proper safety belt use.
GEICO will distribute thousands of copies of Schwear's poster throughout its national network of offices and community sites. His younger sister, Samantha Schwear, also took home the regional first-place prize in the 6-8 age group.
"I'm happy I won. My art teacher encouraged me to enter," said 9-year-old Schwear. When asked what he will do with the prize money he replied, "Hmm. That's a lot of money! I have no idea what I'll do. I have to really think about it."
GEICO representatives Fred Mastriacovo and Ed Carr visited Redding Elementary to present Schwear with a $600 cash prize. They also spent some time answering the students' questions about the GEICO gecko. GEICO also contributed $500 to his school for art supplies. Redding Elementary's art teacher, Karen Feld, accepted the award on behalf of the school.
More than 2,300 students from across the country entered this year's contest. GEICO spreads the safety belt message among children and their parents though this annual contest.
"We want students to learn very early that using a safety belt is the most important thing they can do to improve their odds of safely surviving a crash," said GEICO Chairman Tony Nicely. "Through this contest, we hope to emphasize the importance of safety belts and save lives."
Schools across the U.S. are invited to participate in GEICO's poster contest each year. Students use their creativity and artistry to draw, paint, color or cut and paste an original picture and message emphasizing the importance of using safety belts.
Altogether 73 students across the country earned GEICO prizes for their posters. Visit geico.com for a list of the winners and contest rules.
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the fifth-largest private-passenger auto insurer in the United States. It provides auto insurance coverage for more than 5.3 million policyholders and insures more than 8.6 million vehicles. GEICO uses television, radio, print media and direct mail to attract customers to call its 1-800-841-3000 number and visit its Web site, and keeps its rates low by dealing directly with the customer. GEICO offers sales and claim services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information, go to www.geico.com.
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