Texas 4th Grader Wins Energy-Saving Billboard Contest

Commerce Energy announces the Grand Prize winner and five runners up in the Switch It! energy-saving billboard contest. Former Dallas-based football star, Chad Hennings, presented the $1,000 check to fourth-grade science student, Kate Kiely. Hennings, Kiely and the winning design will appear on billboards in the Dallas area during January and February. Winning the contest came as a surprise to Kiely. She found out when it was announced in front of nearly 90 of her classmates during a school assembly at Big Springs Elementary School, part of the Richardson Independent School District, Garland, Texas. Melissa Smith is the fourth-grade science instructor, and brought the Switch It! program into her classroom. Kiely’s winning billboard design features a light bulb named Larry who encourages others to, "Be Bright and Turn off the Light!” Runners up in the program will each receive two energy-saving light bulbs and four movie tickets. Runners up are fourth graders: Emma Miller, Seymour Elementary School, Seymour Texas; Heather Lo, Big Springs Elementary School, Garland, Texas; and Rachel Bui, Jamie Griffin and Joy Siler, Corey Elementary School, Arlington, Texas. All six of the billboard designs will be posted on the company’s Web site: www.CommerceEnergy.com. "Congratulations to the winners. We were delighted with the creativity of the designs,” said Commerce Energy Chief Executive Officer, Steven S. Boss. "The teachers, who do important work every day, also supported their students in energy-saving efforts. The children certainly understood the message and did a great job of showing how families can be encouraged save on their energy use.” The Billboard Contest was the final part of a three-part energy education and energy-saving curriculum called Switch It! The Switch It! program provided hands-on lessons in energy conservation. The program was sponsored by Commerce Energy, a deregulated retail energy provider, and was designed jointly with Young Minds Inspired, an award-winning specialist in the creation of in-school curriculum-based programs. More than 1,700 schools in the Dallas / Fort Worth area received the Switch It! program for first through fourth grades. The program was kicked off with visits from Chad Hennings to J.N. Ervin Elementary School in Dallas and South Hills Elementary School in Fort Worth on October 9. About Commerce Energy Commerce Energy Group, Inc. is a leading independent U.S. electricity and natural gas marketing company, operating through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Commerce Energy, Inc. is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and by state regulatory agencies as an unregulated retail marketer of natural gas and electricity to homeowners, commercial and industrial consumers and institutional customers. Headquartered in Orange County, California, the company also has an office in Dallas, Texas, as well as several area offices located around the U.S. For a decade, customers have relied on Commerce to deliver competitive pricing, innovative product offerings and personalized customer service, in addition to quality gas and electric services. For more information, visit www.CommerceEnergy.com. About YMI YMI is an award-winning specialist in the creation of in-school curriculum-based programs. It is owned and operated by former award-winning teachers and experts in educational motivation who have developed more than 2,000 in-school programs for pre-school through college. YMI understands how to create innovative materials that correlate with national curriculum standards and provide tools and methods that teachers embrace, students love and parents appreciate. All programs are reviewed by YMI’s special teacher advisory board and are distributed free to teachers who seek creative tools for their classrooms.