Agent E-Kit 2011

Dear Texas Agent, Since 2001, State Farm Texas Scholar Athlete has recognized students throughout the state that exhibit leadership and good citizenship in both academics and athletics. Over past ten the years, students have been awarded $312,000, making State Farm Texas Scholar Athlete the largest statewide athletic scholarship program. The upcoming 2011-2012 school year marks the 10th Anniversary of the program. Texas Zone will be commemorating a decade of celebrating talented students’ success and continued growth. The newly named, State Farm® Texas Scholar Award (TSA), program has been expanded to include all University Interscholastic League (UIL) sanctioned activities, not just sports. With over two million students participating in UIL events each year, this is our opportunity to reward students who excel in academia and extra-curricular activities. TSA has become a two-tiered program. Fifty Texas Scholars will be selected to receive a $1,000 award and then they will compete for one of the four larger scholarships. In all, the Texas Zone will be awarding $75,000 in scholarships on behalf of the Texas Agents of State Farm® . A successful 10th Anniversary Celebration will be enhanced with your participation. TSA provides the opportunity to strengthen your relationship with your local high school and community. Join the celebration today. Read on to learn more, then get involved and start spreading the word throughout your community. Welcome to Texas Scholar Award.

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History 10 years of Growth TSA Alumni Our Relationship with the UIL

2011-2012 Texas Scholar Award Program Criteria Qualifying Activities General Process Important Program Dates

Get Involved! Order Materials Social Media Events High School / Presentation sign up

Table of Contents

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Since 2001, State Farm® has made a commitment to Texas youth through our support of secondary and higher education across the state of Texas. Over this period of time we’ve expressed our commitment through the State Farm Texas Scholar Athlete program. Initially, we recognized 100 students each year with an award that grew to $250 each. Realizing the ever-increasing cost of a college education, in 2007 we upped the ante to award $1,000 each to 50 high school seniors. As a result, the program has become the largest statewide athletic scholarship program of its kind in Texas. We’ve built relationships with over 1,300 Texas high schools and have awarded 800 students a total of $312,000 throughout these ten years. We value the same characteristics that are embodied in Texas sports such as community, leadership and team spirit, and recognize the young men and women who demonstrate a commitment to achieving excellence in their academics while maintaining an active profile in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in their schools and communities. With the 2011-2012 school year marking our 10th Anniversary, we are ready for another big enhancement. We’ve made dramatic changes to the program, broadening the circle of students who will qualify for the competition and increasing the money being awarded for the highest level of recognition. We believe that by supporting these students, we're investing in our future. We want to assist high school students as they prepare for college, the work force, and to serve in their communities. Being a good neighbor is more than an advertising slogan for State Farm®. We keep these commitments in our communities where we live and work.

History

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In the Fall of 2006, we launched the TSA website. Since then, we have honored each Scholar on the site with pictures, a brief bio, a gallery of supplied photos and videos, and their sponsoring State Farm® agent. On average, this website attracts over 9,000 unique visitors each year; 45% of them visit more than once, and they spend nearly 6 minutes on the site each time they visit. This year, we are introducing more reasons for Texans to follow the program and for our TSA Alumni to stay in touch as they progress through their college careers. This will help us to help you stay in touch with them as they graduate from college and enter the workforce. Check out the links below to see the accomplishments of this amazing group of young people, and see where your name could be listed in support of a Top Scholar from your area.

TSA Alumni

2006 - 2007

2007 - 2008

2008 - 2009

2009 - 2010

2010 - 2011

Visit the Texas Scholar Award website to learn more about the program, and bookmark it so you can easily check back during the course of the year.

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The UIL (University Interscholastic League) was created by The University of Texas at Austin in 1909 and has grown into the largest inter-school organization of its kind. The UIL exists to provide educational extracurricular academic, athletic and music contests. The league creates cohesion among Texas secondary schools and sets guidelines for the administration of, and participation in, most co-curricular and extra-curricular activities that they offer. Since 2007, State Farm has been a leading sponsor of UIL sporting competitions. We also are a corporate donor of the Texas Interscholastic League Foundation, which is a service of the UIL that awards scholarships to outstanding Texas seniors who will be attending a four-year college or university in Texas. Each year, State Farm funds ten $5,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors to hit the ground running on their way to college. Since 2007, the UIL is important to the TSA Program in that, on an annual basis, the guidelines for extra-curricular participation are synchronized with UIL sanctioned activities. We also use UIL classifications for determining the comparative strength of academic and extra-curricular programs across schools. The Texas Scholar Award would not be as effective and high-impact without the recognition and support of the UIL.

Our Relationship with the UIL

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This year’s State Farm Texas Scholar Award is expanded to include all UIL sanctioned activities, not just sports, and starting this year it is a two-tiered program. Fifty Texas Scholars will be selected to receive a $1,000 award and then they will compete for one of the four larger scholarships. In all, the Texas Zone will be awarding $75,000 in scholarships on behalf of the Texas Agents of State Farm®. Awards

Three hundred high-achieving high school seniors who demonstrate the characteristics of the program and who comply with the rules of eligibility will be recognized.

• 250 will be recognized with Honorable Mention • 50 will be named Texas Scholars

• each will receive a $1,000 scholarship • 3 of the 50 will be named Texas Scholars of Merit

• each will receive a $5,000 scholarship • 1 of the 50 will be the Outstanding Texas Scholar

• will receive a $10,000 scholarship

The 2011 – 2012 Program

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Criteria for Eligibility

Students must be high school seniors who excel in academics and demonstrate their diversity and leadership through current participation in UIL sanctioned extra-curricular activities and who meet the follow criteria:

• Graduate with the Class of 2012 • Maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.5 or equivalent • Currently participate in at least one of the Qualifying

Activities that are listed on the following page

Students must be nominated by a certified high school administrator, counselor, varsity coach or director/moderator of a UIL sanctioned extracurricular activity.

The 2011 – 2012 Program

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Criteria

Academics • Business – accounting, computer science, computer

applications • Journalism – editorial writing, feature writing,

headline writing, news writing • Language Arts – literary criticism, ready writing,

spelling & vocabulary • Math & Science – Calculator applications,

mathematics, number sense, science • Speech – cross examination debate, informative &

persuasive speaking, Lincoln Douglas debate, poetry & prose interpretation

Athletics • Fall Sports - cross country, football, team tennis, • Spring Sports – baseball, basketball, golf, soccer,

softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, wrestling

Music • Concert – band, choir, orchestra • Marching Band • Medium Ensemble • Sight-Reading – band, choir, orchestra • Solo & Small Ensemble • State Solo Ensemble – Divisions 1 & 2 only • State Wind Ensemble – Divisions 1 & 2 only • Mariachi

Other UIL Competition • Current Issues & Events • One-Act Play • Social Studies

UIL Sanction-Pending • Cheerleading • Drill Team

The 2011 – 2012 Program

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Qualifying Activities

1. A high school senior counselor, school administrator, varsity coach or extracurricular program director/moderator submits nominations.

2. Candidates are reviewed on a rolling basis during the course of the year (applications accepted from August 15, 2011 through March 2, 2012) and Top Texas Scholars will be selected in five classes (see Important Dates for details).

3. Nominations are evaluated and selected solely by the Texas Scholar Award Program Administrator without regard to race, creed, gender, geographic location, financial need or policyholder relationship with State Farm Insurance.

4. A State Farm Texas Zone Marketing representative insures that Scholars are not related to State Farm agents or employees.

5. All nominations will be associated with a validated high school counselor or administrator who will be responsible for the final verification of the credentials of the selected students before the student is formally announced.

6. The keystone of the second tier will be an essay on a topic to be announced on March 14, 2012. All 50 students and their counselors who received a Top Scholar Award will receive information regarding the essay topic and evaluation criteria for the final tier of awards.

7. The essay topic will be kept confidential until it is given to recipients to insure that all 50 contestants receive the same opportunity to prepare their response. All essays are due by April 13th.

The 2011 – 2012 Program

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General Process

August 15, 2011 Program Launch and Website launch

November 1, 2011 Class 1 Selection (5 awards)

December 2, 2011 Class 2 Selection (5 awards)

January 6, 2012 Class 3 Selection (10 awards)

February 3, 2012 Class 4 Selection (15 awards)

March 2, 2012 Class 5 Selection (15 awards)

March 14, 2012 Begin 2nd tier of the competition

April 13, 2012 Deadline for essay and references

May 1, 2012 Announce Top 4 awardees Announce Honorable Mentions

Agent Presentation of Awards ongoing through June 7, 2012

Important Program Dates

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A successful eleventh year will not be possible without the support of you, the local agent. Texas Scholar Awards provide the opportunity to better your relationship with the community, the high school, and the school district and administration involved in your area. You will have a captive audience in administrators, counselors, coaches, students and parents alike. We have provided four ways for you to be involved and spread TSA across your community. We encourage you to use these tools to help you make an impact with your local young people.

Materials

Social

Events

High School / Presentation sign up

Get Involved!

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You may order a packet of materials through Lopez printing. The packet includes:

Ten (10) Presentation cards Five (5) 11x17 Posters

All materials are customizable to your own agency. These materials are your tools to distribute at the local high school, to display in your office and any other places or events you see fit.

Get Involved!

Order Materials

Click to Order

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Social media is the cornerstone to a high school senior’s communication lines. Using your Facebook fan page, you can provide timely information, program updates, milestones and winner announcements. This outlet will enhance your message to the students and meet them in an interactive space. If you have trouble finding the right information to post or you’re in a creative lull, don’t worry! You will be able to find approved messaging on Hearsay 360 throughout the school year.

Get Involved!

Social Media

Click to Get Help

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Clicking this button will create an email to the Texas Zone Marketing analyst who can help you with your Social

Networking questions. Simply type in your own message and you will hear back within 5 business days!

Zone marketing will be at various events in your area throughout the school year. This is a great opportunity to interact with your community about TSA. Contact your field-marketing analyst for more information. Also, if you are hosting your own event or going to a local event, TSA materials are another way to connect with the community.

Get Involved!

Events

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This is your opportunity to sign-up to be listed as the State Farm Agent assigned to one or more High Schools in your area. As the State Farm® liaison, you will be asked to occasionally visit with the key administrator at the school and build on your connections with faculty, coaches, counselors etc to raise awareness of, and promote, the Texas Scholar Award Program. If a student from your school(s) is selected to receive Honorable Mention or Top Scholar awards, you will be given first option to be listed as that student’s Sponsoring Agent* and to make the award presentation (usually made at end-of-year Award Ceremonies or at Graduation).

Get Involved!

High School / Presentation Sign-up

Click to Enroll

High School(s) currently listed ABC High School, Sampletown, Texas

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