Verizon Wireless And WXTV Univision 41 Announce Winners Of Amigos Del Tiempo Contest

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless, operator of America's largest 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network and WXTV Univision 41, the New York area's leading Spanish-language television station regardless of language, announced today that nearly nine thousand viewers voted online for their favorite Amigos del Tiempo (Friends of the Weather) contestants and the top (10) winners of the Amigos del Tiempo (Friends of the Weather) contest have been selected.   The Amigos del Tiempo (Friends of the Weather) winners will begin to present their weather reports this week during the "Noticias Univision 41" (Univision 41 News) newscast on Mondays and Thursdays airing at 11 p.m. 

"We look forward to seeing the weather reports our winning contestants produce with their new Verizon Wireless 4G LTE-enabled tablets on Univision 41! The Amigos del Tiempo contest has taken the technology of our tablets to a whole new level," said Pat Devlin, President New York Metro Region for Verizon Wireless.

The Amigos del Tiempo (Friends of the Weather) winners were honored at an event on January 19, 2013 at the Bay Plaza Verizon Wireless store in the Bronx, NY. During this event, Fernando Molinar, Associate Director of Northeast Multicultural Marketing at Verizon Wireless, presented each winner with a new 4G LTE-enabled tablet and up to six months of free prepaid service from Verizon Wireless. The Amigos del Tiempo winners are:

• Alvaro Torres of Newark, NJ
• Diana Victoria of Union City, NJ
• Jenny Santos of the Bronx, NY
• Yadira Valerio of Bronx, NY
• Brenda Blanco of Westchester County, NY
• Francisco Zapata of Bronx, NY
• Oscar Marulanda of Queens, NY
• Jose Capellan of Manhattan, NY
• Ismael Vargas of Yonkers, NY
• Isabella Guzman of Queens, NY

"We're honored to provide these aspiring Hispanic journalists with new 4G LTE-enabled tablet from Verizon Wireless to record and submit their weather reports to Noticias Univision 41," said Molinar. "This is a step toward helping them achieve their dreams and we look forward to seeing the results."

In order to participate, contestants were required to register to take a free Verizon Wireless Amigos del Tiempo workshop to learn how to use 4G LTE-enabled tablets to videotape and submit their weather reports. WXTV Univision 41 judges selected 25 finalists out of the total number of participants who auditioned that day. To be eligible for the contest, participants had to be aged 18 and older, speak Spanish fluently and live in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut. There was no purchase necessary to enter or win.

"The Amigos del Tiempo contest was such a huge experience and the technology we have a chance to use is amazing because it's the latest on the market," said Yadira Valerio, Amigos del Tiempo winner. "It's really important for us to know about this technology and what we can do with it."

"This has been great," said Francisco Zapata, Amigos del Tiempo winner. "I'm the kind of person who's always wanted to get a shot at working in television and being part of this experience... it's been incredible."

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About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 98.2 million retail customers, including 92.5 million retail postpaid customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 73,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit 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.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Esmeralda Diaz Cameron
Verizon Wireless
(973) 387-5148
[email protected]

Aida E. Rosario  
WXTV Univision 41  
(201) 287-8800  
[email protected]  

Kaitlyn Kotlowski
Crenshaw Communications
(212) 367-9741
[email protected]

SOURCE Verizon Wireless