Falls Church's William Johnson Wins Virginia State Championship in Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge(SM)

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- William Johnson, an eighth grade student from St. James Catholic School in Falls Church, won the Virginia state championship in the fourth annual Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge(SM) yesterday in Blacksburg. The 100 top grade level winners competed for the state champion title and an all-expense-paid trip to the finals during the state championships held in all 50 states and the Department of Defense Schools.

On April 23-25, the state champions and their teacher-escorts will travel to the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando(R), A Loews Hotel to compete for $50,000 in college scholarships. The first place winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship. Second and third place winners will receive college scholarships of $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. The winners will also receive Reader's Digest products for their schools.

BIC, a leading international distributor of stationery products in more than 160 countries worldwide, is a sponsor of the state and national championships.

State coordinator Joe Trice stressed that a well-developed vocabulary increases comprehension and this program is an important part of that process.

Last year, more than 1.6 million fourth through eighth grade students competed nationwide in the Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge(SM). Al Roker, NBC Today show feature reporter, returns as quizmaster for the national championship round.

Based on the popular "Word Power" feature in Reader's Digest, the most widely read magazine in the world, the Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge is an educational outreach program of Reader's Digest Association, Inc. . Schools are encouraged to register for next year's competition at http://www.wordpowerchallenge.com/.