Ebiakpo Jituboh and DeKeisha George of Queens, NY Named as the Winners of ESSENCE Magazine's Will You Marry Me? 2009 Contest!

Ebiakpo Jituboh and DeKeisha George of Queens, NY Named as the Winners of ESSENCE Magazine's Will You Marry Me? 2009 Contest!

Couple Receives a $50,000 Dream Wedding Courtesy of ESSENCE During a Pre-Valentine's Day Special on ABC-TV's Good Morning America!

ESSENCE will feature a "Will You Marry Me?" Valentine's Day special to air on TV One

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Ebiakpo Jituboh and DeKeisha George of Queens, NY, have been named the winners of ESSENCE Magazine's "Will You Marry Me?" Contest! Essence.com received more than one million votes for the five participating couples, but in the end, Ebiakpo and DeKeisha's heartwarming love story won the most votes. The winners, who will receive a $50,000 dream wedding courtesy of ESSENCE, were revealed during a pre-Valentine's Day special on ABC-TV's Good Morning America this morning. Tiffany & Co. is the sponsor of Will You Marry Me? 2009.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090213/NY70687 )

ESSENCE offered gentlemen across the country the chance of a lifetime -- to surprise their girlfriends with a dreamy proposal in the pages of the magazine for its third annual Will You Marry Me? feature. ESSENCE was bombarded with letters from men wanting to propose in the magazine after publishing an ad in the September 2008 and October 2008 issues. The letters came pouring in, but only five special men were selected to share their love story with more than 8 million readers. Readers were able to log on to Essence.com to see videos of each of the romantic proposals captured by ESSENCE's hidden cameras, see each woman's shocked responses and vote for their favorite duo by February 12.

"ESSENCE is so happy for Ebiakpo and DeKeisha, the winners of our annual Will You Marry Me? Contest," says Angela Burt-Murray, editor-in-chief, ESSENCE. "More than one million Essence.com viewers logged on to vote for their favorite couple and were obviously touched by Ebiakpo's unwavering support for DeKeisha, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis only two years ago. Our readers have now helped a deserving couple realize their dream of bringing their families from Trinidad and Nigeria to what is sure to be a beautiful wedding."

ESSENCE and TV One, an entertainment and lifestyle television network for African-Americans, will also offer viewers a romantic treat for Valentine's Day when the two bring back the TV special companion to the contest on Saturday, February 14 from 9-10 PM. ESSENCE has produced a one-hour television special that features the five men from four different cities around the U.S., who will share their love stories with ESSENCE readers and TV One viewers and provide their girlfriends with the proposal of a lifetime.

The remaining finalists are: Rashad A. Sanders and Andrea J. Hill of Houston (Andrea's father had given his blessing to Rashad before he passed away); Anthony D. Lewis and Kirstan K. Simmons of Houston (Anthony popped the question at Houston's Museum of Natural Science); E. Sean Collier of Atlanta and Ashley P. McCollum of Cincinnati (Ashley received a surprise underwater proposal at the aquarium); and Edmond Clark and Tamica Young of Griffith, Indiana (Tamica was surprised with a proposal while she was at lunch with friends).

Go to www.essence.com to see the winning couple and to relive the winning moment!

About Essence Communications Inc.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the leading media and communications company dedicated to African-American women. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is "Where Black Women Come First". The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, Women Who Are Shaping the World Leadership Summit, Window on Our Women (WOW I & II) and Smart Beauty I, II & III consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 38 years, ESSENCE magazine, which has a readership of 8.1 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women's lives. Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at essence.com.

About Essence.com:

Essence.com is the daily online destination for African-American women that informs, entertains and connects. The expansive web destination delivers daily fresh content, engaging blogs, robust photo galleries, a substantial online community and original video programming across four channels that include: News & Entertainment, Fashion & Beauty, Relationships and Lifestyle. Essence.com is currently the largest and fastest growing African-American magazine website. The site's growth is unsurpassed and reaches more than a million monthly unique visitors. The new Essence.com launched in September 2008 as one of the first projects to come from the partnership between The Warner Bros. Television Group and Time Inc.'s Essence Communications Inc.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090213/NY70687
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN 7
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Essence Communications, Inc.

CONTACT: Dana Baxter, +1-212-522-1634, dbaxter@essence.com, or Sheila
Harris, +1-212-522-1089, sharris@essence.com, both of ESSENCE

Web Site: http://www.essence.com/

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