Verizon Wireless How Sweet The Sound Competition Names Jubilee Christian Center Bay Area's Best Church Choir

Verizon Wireless How Sweet The Sound Competition Names Jubilee Christian Center Bay Area's Best Church Choir

Choir to compete for national title in Atlanta

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Jubilee Christian Center was named overall best church choir in the San Francisco Bay Area during the regional competition of Verizon Wireless' How Sweet The Sound(SM) tour held on Oct. 10 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, Calif. Jubilee Christian Center will advance to perform in the grand finale on Nov. 8 in Atlanta to compete for a cash prize of up to $30,000 and the title of best church choir in America.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081014/NY38604 )

Other winners at the Bay Area semi-final competition were:
-- V CAST People's Choice Award: Independent Holiness Church
-- Small Category Winner: Antioch Church Family
-- Large Category Winner: Jubilee Christian Center

Hosts and judges for the Oakland event included award-winning gospel artists Donald Lawrence, Marvin Sapp and Hezekiah Walker and professional radio broadcaster Marshalen Martin.

Oakland is the ninth stop along the How Sweet The Sound tour. At the grand finale event in Atlanta, the overall winners from prior regional events involving 11 cities will compete for the grand prize, which includes a cash prize of up to $30,000 and the title of the best church choir in America. GRAMMY(R)-winning songwriter, producer, arranger and music director, Donald Lawrence, is serving as tour emcee. At the finale Marvin Sapp, Hezekiah Walker and other guest celebrity judges will join Donald Lawrence.

Verizon Wireless' How Sweet The Sound tour concludes with the grand finale concert on Nov. 8 in Atlanta (Philips Arena).

Music fans planning to watch their favorite choirs compete during this event are encouraged to bring their no-longer-used wireless phones and donate them to the Verizon Wireless HopeLine(R) program. Phones will be collected at booths set up at different locations throughout the concert venues.

HopeLine is Verizon Wireless' exclusive phone recycling and reuse program that collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any wireless service provider to benefit victims of domestic violence. Proceeds from the HopeLine program are used to provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness. Since 2001, HopeLine has collected more than 5.3 million phones and awarded more than $5.6 million in cash grants to domestic violence agencies and organizations throughout the country.

Those who cannot make it to the show can drop off their used wireless phones, batteries and accessories at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store at any time of the year.

For more information about Verizon Wireless and the HopeLine program, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline. For more information about How Sweet The Sound, visit www.howsweetthesound.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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Source: Verizon Wireless

CONTACT: Heidi Flato of Verizon Wireless, +1-925-279-6545,
Heidi.Flato@verizonwireless.com; or Samantha Kane, +1-212-373-6132,
Samantha.Kane@pmkhbh.com

Web Site: http://www.howsweetthesound.com/
http://www.verizonwireless.com/
http://www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline
http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

NOTE TO EDITORS: Broadcast-quality B-Roll featuring 2008 How Sweet The Sound coverage is available online. Log on to Verizon Wireless' Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia to preview and request video segments, which can be received in newsrooms digitally or by tape.

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