The Consumer Electronics Association and the National Association of Broadcasters announced the first semi-final winner of the “Rabbit Ears Pioneers” contest, JoNancy Linn Sundberg of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. The contest encourages over-the-air television viewers to prepare now for the nation’s transition to digital television, which will be complete on February 17, 2009.
Sundberg, 69, received her prize of a Zenith converter box and RCA digital reception antenna this morning during an in-studio appearance on her favorite program, the morning news on KTHV-TV, Little Rock’s CBS affiliate. With her converter box and new antenna, Sundberg will receive digital channels for free over-the-air using her black-and-white analog TV set purchased in 1982.
As a semi-finalist, Sundberg also qualifies for the grand prize of a high definition home entertainment center. Sundberg, who is a retired first-grade teacher and published author, created what she calls a “first-grade rhyme” for the contest. Her entry received the highest overall rating for creativity and originality by an independent judging panel comprised of electronics industry experts. The following excerpt is from her entry:
“I’ve never had anything
But an analog TV.
When February ’09 arrives,
I’ll be bereft, you see,
Of all the information and entertainment
That so appeals to me.
So please consider my entry favorably!”
Entries are still being accepted for Rabbit Ears Pioneers, and semi-final winners will be announced in August, September and October 2008. The grand prize winning entry will be announced in November as part of the 100-day countdown to the transition and in time to kick-off the holiday season. Full entry details can be found at www.antennaweb.org.
