American Airlines Federal Credit Union Youth Member Wins National Photography Competition

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines Federal Credit Union (AA Credit Union) is proud to announce that Credit Union member-owner Kenna, 14, is this year's $1,000 winner of the Googolplex Grand Prize photo contest.

The Tacoma, Wash., teen submitted her winning photo "Dandelion Wishes" in the "True Friends" theme. Describing the photo, she says she and her best friend "planned to take a photo of blowing wish-weeds, but she could never blow hard enough to get her seeds off of the stem!" Kenna took the picture to capture the moment and says, "All of my seeds were floating in the air and hers didn't go anywhere."

Googolplex, a CUNA LifeStage online magazine for youth, comprises three customizable sites for elementary, middle and high school students. It offers a themed photo contest for the high school site, C-Note, which culminates with a $1,000 grand prize every year. Kenna submitted her photo through AA Credit Union, which offers its young members a full range of resources and advice about how best to learn and plan their own finances.

"We couldn't be more delighted that the grand prize winner was one of our own youth members," said Angie Owens, president and CEO of AA Credit Union. "Teaching our younger member-owners the importance of financial responsibility is crucial to our future and we're glad to see Kenna has a strong financial base with which to begin planning for her own future."

CUNA editors choose contest themes based on suggestions from a nationwide teen panel of student editors. C-Note invites photo entries by publicizing the contest in subscriber e-mails and on the front page of C-Note. Every seven weeks a contestant wins $100, and once a year all winning photos from the past 12 months are open to a public vote. The ultimate winner receives $1,000.

"The current C-Note photo contest theme is 'Messy Rooms.' This should be an easy theme for anyone, regardless of age," said Rena Crispin, managing editor of Googolplex. Legal residents of the U.S. between the ages of 13 and 19 can submit a photo by visiting Googolplex from the AA Credit Union website at www.AACreditUnion.org in the "For Family & Youth" section.

About American Airlines Federal Credit Union

Founded in 1936, AA Credit Union now serves the present and retired employees of American Airlines, their family members and people who work in the air transportation industry.  In its 75th year, AA Credit Union has more than 225,000 members nationwide and assets in excess of $5.2 billion. As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, AA Credit Union is committed first and foremost to enriching its member-owners' financial well-being through their participation in the products and services of the Credit Union. For more information, please visit www.AACreditUnion.org.

AA Credit Union is a registered trademark of American Airlines, Inc.

SOURCE American Airlines Federal Credit Union