Tobyhanna Resident Wins $10,000 Grand Prize in the Verizon 'Great Paper Escape' Sweepstakes

SCRANTON, Pa., April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For Antony Tolano of Tobyhanna, going green was a wise choice, not only for the environment but for his bank account as well.  

Tolano was selected as the grand-prize winner of the Verizon Great Paper Escape Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes, winning $10,000.  James Gowen, Verizon vice president and chief sustainability officer, presented a check to Tolano during an event Tuesday (April 19) at Verizon's office in downtown Scranton.

"Environmental stewardship is a key priority at Verizon, and this sweepstakes was a unique way to engage our customers to support our sustainability initiatives," said Gowen.  "Paperless billing is an easy way to escape the hassles of a paper bill and positively impact the environment. Since 2007, electronic bills have prevented the use of 5,000 tons of paper."

Verizon launched the national Great Paper Escape sweepstakes in August 2010 to encourage its customers to enroll in online, paperless billing and Auto Pay services.  Verizon customers who were enrolled in paperless billing during the campaign earned one sweepstakes entry and could earn an additional entry by setting up Auto Pay with their bank accounts.  

In addition to the $10,000 grand prize, entrants also were eligible to win instant prizes that included an energy efficient washer and dryer, an eco urban bike, $50 electronic gift cards, eco kits and water bottles.  

Tolano was selected out of more than 1.5 million sweepstakes entries from Verizon residential customers across the country who enrolled in paperless billing between August and December 2010.  He plans to pay some bills with his winnings and save the rest.

"I had too many papers to file, so going paperless with Verizon made sense," said Tolano.  "It's worked out well for me.  There's no paper, and with Auto Pay, I never have to worry about when to pay my bill.  All I need to do is log in to myverizon.com online and check my accounts."

For the past two years, Verizon has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, which lists North America's leading companies as measured by governance, social and environmental performance.

For more information on Verizon's environmental initiatives, visit http://newscenter.verizon.com/kit/green-press-kit/.  Customers interested in signing up for paperless billing can visit www.myverizon.com to enroll.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 94.1 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 194,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon