George Washington and Abraham Lincoln 2008: The Great Debate - Awards Students a Total of $250,000 in Scholarships (College for Free), Travel, More

14 May 2008 09:45 Africa/Lagos


George Washington and Abraham Lincoln 2008: The Great Debate - Awards Students a Total of $250,000 in Scholarships (College for Free), Travel and the Opportunity to Experience the Summer Job of a Lifetime

Project Partners Include: Abraham Lincoln Foundation, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Mt. Vernon National Constitution Center, National Forensics League, National History Day

**CONTEST APPLICATION DEADLINE JUST 5 DAYS AWAY**
PHILADELPHIA, May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Now Debate This, the unprecedented nationwide scholarship contest, Washington and Lincoln '08 - The Great Debate, sponsored by Pinnacle Performance Group of Philadelphia, has already begun drawing strong participant interest and national project partners including Abraham Lincoln Foundation, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Mt. Vernon National Constitution Center, National Forensics League and National History Day.

Now Debate This is a competition created for high school juniors who will debate the question through national travel, hands-on, all expenses paid, real life participation and exploration, answering "Who was the better President? George Washington or Abraham Lincoln?"
Applications for participation are due by May 19, 2008. Guidelines and downloadable entry forms are available now at www.nowdebatethis.com.

Through the online contest, 16 contestants will be chosen to spend the summer exploring Washington and Lincoln across the U.S. Students will explore the principles of America's founders from the 1700's, engage in the quest for freedom and examine how it challenged the constitution from the Civil War to today. The lives of these two men as presidents and commanders-in-chief will be explored, including how elements such as principals, political platforms, personal views and faith affected their lives. Each contestant will receive a $3,500 stipend, plus a new laptop and video camera to document the summer experiences. The task of each contestant will be to engage people across the world in a great online debate about Washington and Lincoln. The job includes creating videos, blogs and community outreach, all based on George and Abe.

The contest aims to show who these great leaders in our history really were and how their influence affects us today. By giving these great men a modern voice, Now Debate This aims to enable participants to understand their commitment to honor, self-sacrifice, amazing challenges and the ability to lay the framework for the greatest democracy in the world, while inspiring youth to follow in the footsteps of these great patriots.

"George Washington and Abraham Lincoln have stood the test of time as the two most visionary and accomplished leaders in U.S. history," said Mary L. Hagy, President of PPG and Executive Producer of Now Debate This. "In 2008, young people need bona fide heroes. Washington and Lincoln offer our students the chance to look back in time, to be inspired by the lives of these two men, whose legacies still resonate today."

To apply, current juniors in high school, will create a 2-3 minute video of themselves, in which they share name, age, hometown, what college they would like to attend and why. Then, the students will answer one of these questions:
1. What is the most important duty of the President as commander in chief,
and why?
2. What does 'patriotism' mean to you?
3. What can the Declaration of Independence tell us about life in 2008?

The contestant then uploads the video to YouTube and applies for the contest. Sixteen contestants will be chosen and announced LIVE on June 18 at the National History Day finals in Washington DC, where 8,000 people will be watching in person, with millions more at home.
Beginning July 26, 2008, the 16 contestants will hit the road for a two-week trip throughout Washington DC, Virginia, New Jersey, Springfield, IL and Philadelphia to experience the lives of these presidents firsthand and to document their journey (details to follow). Finally, on August 9, the contest comes full circle as the students debate Washington and Lincoln in round robin fashion, until only two finalists remain. All contestants can win up to $25,000 in scholarship and no less than $2,000.

The two winners will then return to Philadelphia on Sep. 17, National Constitution Day, for the final debate in the National Constitution Center, where the winner will walk away with a $150,000 scholarship. The runner up will receive a $50,000 scholarship.

The Washington-Lincoln '08 Great Debate is made possible through the generous funding of Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. and Dr. Josephine Templeton, of Bryn Mawr, Pa. Both Drs. Templeton are lovers of history and have a long legacy of supporting education and scholarship projects that have made a profound impact on today's culture through their unmatched philanthropic efforts to this end.

"America's Founding Fathers clearly believed: 1) that our freedom did not come by chance; 2) that freedom requires both sacrifice and vigilance; 3) that self-government requires the moral qualities of personal responsibility and prudence; 4) that freedom needs to be actively defended and promoted; and 5) that freedom is fragile and can be lost from either internal or external threats," said Dr. Jack Templeton. "As an inheritor of these beliefs, of George Washington and others, Abraham Lincoln felt America is a cause worth fighting for and preserving and if necessary, sacrificing for."

The Now Debate This campaign is being produced and marketed by Emmy award winning TV director Steven Feldman, who has worked with talent as varied as Bill Nye, Linda Ellerbee, Bill Maher and for PBS, CBS, Disney, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MSNBC and Discovery. Having worked with Sesame Street, the 'Nick News, Politically Incorrect and Nickelodeon's current hit, LazyTown, Feldman's Sam Hill Entertainment is leading the way for the groundbreaking creative efforts of Now Debate This.

In conjunction with Sam Hill Entertainment, BuzzPlant, a multipurpose Internet marketing agency, is leading the online/grassroots charge for Now Debate This. BuzzPlant works with companies such as Disney/Buena Vista, Walden Media, Twentieth Century Fox and BMG. Marketing partners include AOL/Time Warner, Yahoo and Google. BuzzPlant and its employees have been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wired Magazine and Fortune Magazine.
About Pinnacle Performance Group:

Now Debate This is executive produced by Pinnacle Performance Group (PPG), headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Founded in 1992, PPG specializes in heritage education and heritage development programs. For interview opportunities please contact:
Lesley Burbridge-Bates
L.A.B. Media (615) 414-7573
lesley.bates@labmediaonline.com
Source: Pinnacle Performance Group
CONTACT: Lesley Burbridge-Bates of L.A.B. Media, +1-615-567-6201,lesley.bates@labmediaonline.com
Web site: http://www.nowdebatethis.com/