Georgia Dog Owner Wins Dream Dog Park Contest

/PRNewswire/ -- For Atlanta-area resident Pat McNeely and his dog Koda, doggie dreams really can come true. Today, McNeely and his four-legged best friend were crowned Grand Prize Winner of the Beneful® WagWorld® Dream Dog Park Contest.

To celebrate the special relationships we have with our dogs, the first-of-its-kind contest invited dog owners across America to answer the question: If you had $500,000 to create the ultimate dream dog park for you and your best buddy, what would you do? In addition to submitting a video that showed the many creative ways they would create their dream dog park, contest entrants were asked to write a short essay explaining how the makeover of a neighborhood dog park would enhance their daily adventures with their dog.

McNeely's winning entry will help serve as inspiration for a $500,000 renovation of the Newtown Dog Park in Johns Creek, Ga. In addition, McNeely won $5,000 cash and a year's supply of Beneful® brand dog food. The Beneful WagWorld Dream Team, led by dog lover, design expert and television host Jason Cameron, will manage the transformation of the dog park to create a dream dog park for the entire Johns Creek community to enjoy. Also on the team is pet expert and bestselling author Arden Moore, who will help manage the renovation from the dog's point of view. Plans will be reviewed and approved by the City.

"We were amazed by the creativity and quality of the entries we received in this contest - dog owners really know how to dream big," said Cameron. "While we received many outstanding entries, Pat McNeely's entry rose to the top and I am excited to manage the transformation of his neighborhood dog park into the WagWorld Dream Dog Park for his entire community to enjoy."

At a hometown celebration event today in Johns Creek, Ga., Cameron unveiled a preliminary blueprint design for the dog park renovation in front of a local gathering that included: McNeely and Koda; Johns Creek city officials; Mayor Mike Bodker; and members of the local dog community. A climbing structure, plastic tunnels, a doggie splash pad, lots of grass and shade trees, and running trails are some of the exciting features that will be included in the Newtown Dog Park makeover.

The contest entries were narrowed down to 10 finalists by an independent judging panel based on the following criteria: creativity of the dream idea (60%); feasibility of bringing the idea to life (20%); and demonstration of how life is better together with your dog (20%). Cameron and Moore then judged the 10 finalists using the same criteria, with their judging accounting for 90% of the final total score. In addition, the public was invited to vote for their favorites among the 10 finalists with the voting rank accounting for the remaining 10% of the final score. The nine runners' up each received a year's supply of Beneful® brand dog food.

"The Beneful brand recognizes that life is better when we are with our best buddies and we are delighted that so many dog owners across the country wanted to share their dreams for the ultimate dog park," said Joe Chatman, Beneful brand manager. "Going to the dog park is a fun adventure for many dog owners and their four-legged friends, and for one lucky community this adventure just got even better."

The much-anticipated unveiling of the renovated Newtown Dog Park will take place in Spring 2011. For more information on the contest and winning entry, please visit benefuldreamdogpark.com.

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The Nation's Best Math and Science Students Earn Top High School Honors and Strive for $100,000 Scholarship

Kudos to those awesome students, Cassandra Buru and Jian Liu, of Northview High School, Johns Creek, GA, for making the finals!

/PRNewswire/ -- WHAT: Could tomorrow's Albert Einstein or Alexander Graham Bell currently be a student in high school? What did the next generation of innovators come up with this year? Find out when the regional finalists of the 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology -- America's premier science research competition -- head to California Institute of Technology November 20 & 21. At stake is a $3,000 prize for one individual, $6,000 for one team, and an invitation to the National Finals in New York City for a shot at the $100,000 Grand Prize!

WHO: Fifteen whiz kids unveil graduate level research projects to a distinguished panel of university judges. Past Siemens Competition winners and Alumni have tackled some of the world's hardest and most pressing problems through math and science. Their feats include: invention of anti-bacterial coatings for medical devices, research of cures for drug-resistant Tuberculosis, exploring zebrafish spines for an inside look at bone growth, reinventing string theory, and developing a device to generate energy from ocean waves. What research will the Nation's brightest teen minds unveil this year?

The 2009 Siemens Competition regional finalists are:

Individual Finalists:
-- Alex Han, The Harker School, San Jose, CA
-- David Liu, Lynbrook High School, San Jose, CA
-- Tito Thomas, Troy High School, Fullerton, CA
-- Lynnelle Ye, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, CA
-- William Zhang, La Jolla High School, La Jolla, CA

Team Finalists:
-- Cassandra Buru and Jian Liu, Northview High School, Johns Creek, GA
-- William Han and Frank Zhao, Westview High School, Portland, OR
-- Ryan Lindeborg, Dana Hills High School, Dana Point, CA; and Andrew
James Swoboda, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology, Alexandria, VA
-- Samantha Piszkiewicz and Nicolai Doreng-Stearns, Laguna Beach High
School, Laguna Beach, CA
-- Katherine Wang and Sreetha Sidharthan, Interlake High School,
Bellevue, WA

WHERE: On the campus of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

WHEN: Friday, Nov. 20 - Dabney Lounge
9:45 am - 12:00pm: Students set up projects
5:00 pm - 6:15pm: Public viewing of projects
Saturday, Nov. 21 - Ramo Auditorium
9:00 am - 2:45 pm: Students present to judges

MORE: Want to be the first to find out who will head to the National Finals in New York?

Log into and follow Siemens Foundation on Twitter (http://twitter.com/SFoundation) on Saturday, November 21, 2009 between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm PST, when we announce the winners live!

The Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology is a signature program of the Siemens Foundation, which provides more than $7 million in support of educational initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math in the United States. The Siemens Competition is administered by the College Board. More information can be found at www.siemens-foundation.org.

Winners of the regional events are invited to compete at the National Finals at New York University in New York City, December 3 - December 7, 2009. Visit www.siemens-foundation.org on December 7, 2009 at 9:30am EST to view a live webcast of the National Finalist Award Presentation.

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