Verizon Wireless Celebrates the Launch of It’s a Family Affair™ contest with Tavis Smiley

California Family to Win Ultimate Reunion Valued Up to $20,000

Los Angeles, CA, May 16, 2011 – With the season of family reunions and summer vacations fast approaching, one lucky family will soon celebrate a reunion they’ll never forget.  The grand prize winner of Verizon Wireless’ It’s a Family Affair™ contest will win an all-expense-paid family reunion for up to 100 guests.  The prize includes a reunion venue, catering, entertainment and a dedicated website to post family images, videos, comments and more.

“Four years ago Verizon Wireless introduced How Sweet the Sound, a national gospel choir competition, and the response from the African-American community was overwhelmingly positive,” said Christina Gonzalez, director of multicultural marketing for Verizon Wireless in the western U.S.  “With It’s a Family Affair, we’re giving back to the community, once again, in a culturally relevant way.”

Families can register for the contest at www.VerizonFamilyAffair.com now through May 30, 2011 at midnight.  Entrants must submit photos that demonstrate how their family keeps their close connection, and answer a few short, open-ended questions, such as: “What words of wisdom does your family live by?”

The voting period runs from June 7 to June 16.   Verizon Wireless will select fifty families as semi-finalists and post their stories on the contest website.  The public will then vote to determine which family wins the ultimate family reunion from Verizon Wireless. The company will announce the winning family no later than June 25. 

To celebrate the launch of the contest, Verizon Wireless hosted a family-friendly event recently at its Communications Store in Torrance.  Some attendees won prizes such as BlackBerry® smartphones and tickets to concerts and sporting events in Los Angeles.

Attendees also had an opportunity to meet talk show host, author and entrepreneur Tavis Smiley.  He signed his newly released book “Fail Up” and posed for pictures with those in attendance. Pictures from the It’s a Family Affair™ event are available to be viewed at www.verizoninsider.com/galleries.

To learn more and register for the It’s a Family Affair™ contest, visit www.VerizonFamilyAffair.com.

Marable Family Reunion, Montgomery, AL (2008)

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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