On Friday, December 13, American Riviera Bank announced the winner of the teen savings video contest, “Lights, Camera, Save!”. The video contest challenged teens ages 13 to 18 to create an educational video that showed the value of sound money management in a way that was appealing to other teenagers. Michaela Oh, from Rocklin, CA won first place with her aptly titled video, “Save Your Money and Stay Winning”.
American Riviera Bank partnered with the American Bankers Association to bring the saving program for teenagers – “Lights, Camera, Save!” – to local junior highs and high schools. The judges looked for creative and innovative videos that communicated the importance of sound money management in a way that is relevant and appealing to other teens. With her clever approach to showcasing responsible financial decision-making, Oh won the preliminary competition by sharing practical tips to cut spending and encouraged teens to save for college. The runner-up was Santa Barbara local teen, Tara Woodward, who emphasized the importance of budgeting and of beginning one’s savings early on.
“Congratulations to our preliminary winners and a big thank you to everyone that participated,” said Jeff DeVine, American Riviera Bank President and CEO, “Community-engagement efforts like Lights, Camera, Save! are a great way to educate and bring financial literacy to teens as they start their first jobs, and as they grapple with important financial decisions associated with college. With creative minds like our preliminary winners Miss Oh and Miss Woodward, we are confident our next generations will grow up to be financially responsible and resilient.”
Having won at the state level, Michaela Oh will continue on to the national level competition. There, the three top winners will receive awards of $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000, respectively. In addition, the national winners’ videos will be posted on the program’s YouTube channel and become part of a national campaign to make sound money management relevant to teenagers. Beyond the award prizes for the teens themselves, their schools could win a scholarship to attend the 2020 Jump$tart National Educators Conference.
Promising “Fortune. Fame. And a lot of fun”, the Lights, Camera, Save! program serves as an entertaining way to educate younger audiences on the important topic of financial literacy and responsibility. While too often teenagers graduate high school without important money management skills, this program encouraged teens to participate in their own financial empowerment and edification, while helping their peers learn a lesson they can save for life.
See Michaela Oh’s winning entry at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpzGmJSp5RQ
See Tara Woodward’s video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRY5tRVmfTE
About American Riviera Bank:
American Riviera Bank is a full-service community bank focused on serving the lending and deposit needs of businesses and consumers on the Central Coast of California. The state-chartered bank opened for business on July 18, 2006, with the support of local shareholders. Full-service branches are located in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles. The bank provides commercial, residential mortgage, construction and Small Business Administration lending services as well as convenient online and mobile technology. For nine consecutive years the Bank has been recognized for strong financial performance by the Findley Reports, and received the highest “Super Premier” rating from Findley for 2018 and 2017. As of June 30, 2019, the Bank was rated five stars by BauerFinancial. American Riviera Bank is an FDIC Member as well as an Equal Housing Lender.
For more information, please visit www.AmericanRivieraBank.com.