Local teen wins preliminary round of “Lights, Camera, Save”

Keisha Small, left, and Allan Rancourt, President of Kennebec Federal Savings, congratulating Keisha upon being the preliminary round winner in the Lights, Camera, Save, video competition. (photo courtesy of Kennebec Federal Savings)

Submitted by Dave Carew

Keisha Small, an 18-year-old senior at Lawrence High School, in Fairfield, who is also enrolled in Mass Media Communications at Mid-Maine Technical Center, in Waterville, has been selected by Kennebec Federal Savings as the winner of the local round of the “Lights, Camera, Save!” video competition sponsored by the American Bankers Association. The competition, open to those from 13 to 18 years of age, solicits original short videos from teens nationwide; each video must promote the value of saving money and using money wisely among teens. Keisha worked with her MMTC teammate, Mason Cormier, to create the video. Keisha’s teacher at MMTC is Dave Boardman, Mass Media Communications Instructor.

Keisha submitted the 90-second video to Kennebec Federal Savings, the local participating financial institution for the “Lights, Camera, Save!” video competition. Kennebec Federal Savings selected Keisha’s video to advance to the national competition, and also announced at a ceremony held in Waterville on January 15 that they were awarding Keisha a new GoPro camera.

“We chose a storyline approach to the video, to draw people in,” Keisha said. “We wanted to show that smart, regular saving can not only help you pay bills, but also help you do really enjoyable things, like taking trips.”

Keisha’s video, along with all the entries submitted by banks across the country, now advances to the national competition, where it will be reviewed by ABA Foundation judges. They will select up to 6 videos as finalists to be shown for the Savers’ Choice social media contest and Bankers’ Choice contest.

The Savers’ Choice Social Media Contest will run from noon February 12 through noon February 19, and all are welcome to vote. (More information is available here.)

The Banker’s Choice contest will take place at the Conference for Community Bankers, in Orlando, Florida, from February 9-12, where bankers will vote on the finalists.

National winners will be announced Wednesday, February 26, at 2 p.m. ET, via ABA’s YouTube Channel.

The first place, second place, and third place winners will receive cash prizes of $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000, respectively, to fund their savings goals. Each winner’s school also will receive a scholarship for a teacher to attend the 2020 Jump$tart National Educator Conference.

View the winning video entry below:

Dave Carew, of Waterville, is a freelance book editor, publicist and copywriter, and can be contacted at (615) 540-7457.