High School and College Winners of Future Frontrunners Leadership Contest Get Exclusive Access to Convention and Women Leaders

High School and College Winners of Future Frontrunners Leadership Contest Get Exclusive Access to Convention and Women Leaders

LIFETIME Networks, CosmoGIRL, Declare Yourself & Young Women's Leadership Conference '08 Host Future Frontrunners Summit at Republican National Convention

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Women leaders of tomorrow got a front row seat today to experience the Republican National Convention. The high school and college young women, the winners of Lifetime Television, CosmoGIRL and Declare Yourself's leadership contest, got exclusive access to a who's who of women in politics, media and advocacy.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080804/NYM123LOGO )

The Future Frontrunners Summit included a viewing of one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and a day-long seminar with women elected officials, journalists and advocates to learn leadership skills, how to impact public policy, and the importance of the women's vote.

In a recent Lifetime Every Woman Counts poll, nearly half (44%) of women polled believe the country will see a woman in the Oval Office within eight years, including 23% of them who said it will happen in 2012. The poll was taken prior to the selection of Governor Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate.

Speakers at the Summit included Susan Bevan, Republican Majority for Choice; Michelle Bernard, Independent Women's Forum; Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN); Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (WV); Rep. Kay Granger (TX); Kathy Lantry, St. Paul City Council President; Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (WA); Diana Nguyen, Declare Yourself; Maria Teresa Peterson, Voto Latino; Marie Wilson, The White House Project.

"As women, we have an advantage in politics because our voices can be heard in a different way. Senator Clinton showed the country that women are ready and able to lead and I'm very proud we have Gov. Palin on the Republican side as the Vice Presidential candidate," said U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito.

LIFETIME's Future Frontrunners won an essay and video contest to identify the next generation of women leaders. Contestants submitted written or video essays at myLifetime.com answering the question, "What would you do if you were president?"

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Photo 1 Caption: (St. Paul, MN/September 1, 2008) - LIFETIME Networks' Future Frontrunners - high school and college aged winners of leadership contest - at the Republican Convention with one of only 25 surviving copies of the Declaration of Independence.

   Photo Credit:  Amber Procaccini/Lifetime TV    http://citizencontact.typepad.com/images/ewc/frontrunner126p.jpg  

Photo 2 Caption: (St. Paul, MN/September 1, 2008) - U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) addresses LIFETIME Networks' Future Frontrunners Summit at Republican National Convention in St. Paul. "As women, we have an advantage in politics because our voices can be heard in a different way. Senator Clinton showed the country that women are ready and able to lead and I'm very proud we have Gov. Palin on the Republican side as the Vice Presidential candidate," said U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

   Photo Credit:  Amber Procaccini/Lifetime TV    http://citizencontact.typepad.com/images/ewc/frontrunner174p.jpg  

Photo 3 Caption: (St. Paul, MN/September 1, 2008) - Kathy Lantry, St. Paul City Council President addresses LIFETIME Networks' Future Frontrunners Summit at Republican National Convention in St. Paul. "I'm so happy in my corner of the world! I love St. Paul - I'm not looking to be President. I represent the area I grew up in and has been part of my life since I was born. In '95, when I go back and look at the election money I had to raise for my first campaign, it was all friends and family. My dad did the fundraising and my relatives would hold onto their wallets when he was around. I asked them to sacrifice for me and they did. The unfortunate reality is it costs money to run."

Photo Credit: Amber Procaccini/Lifetime TV

Marc Morgenstern, Executive Director of Declare Yourself, brought one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence to the Convention. The girls got to view this meaningful document, printed on the evening of July 4, 1776. It is one of only 25 copies that have survived. In those pre-Internet days, horses carried these copies from town to town, bringing the words to every citizen. The girls took lots of photos.

"This is to remind us of the promise of what we want our country to become," Morgenstern told the Future Frontrunners. He also reminded them that, ""88 years ago women got the right to vote and when you think about it, that's just a blink in time. Today's event shows how far we've come, but it also shows far we have to go to get women involved."

"When Lifetime started the nonpartisan Every Woman Counts campaign five election cycles ago, the idea of a woman running for President seemed impossible. To have witnessed it this year was unbelievable. And now to have a woman Vice Presidential nominee is amazing. It's great to have the young leaders of tomorrow here with women who are blazing the trail for the next generation," said Meredith Wagner, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at LIFETIME Networks.

Tara Roberts, Senior Editor of CosmoGIRL, said, "I'm blown away by the caliber of the Future Frontrunners and the depth of wisdom offered by visiting Members of Congress. Surely, these winners will make large contributions to our world. I say, watch out!"

National winner Stephanie Moore from Kansas City, MO, who was awarded an all expense paid trip to the Republican Convention, attends Tulane University. She left New Orleans early in order to attend the Summit. She said her heart is back home with her community as they face Hurricane Gustav. Moore had the opportunity to chat with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers about what it's like being the first generation in your family to attend college and having the ambition to run for elected office.

Regional winners at the Republican Convention were from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Kristen Orlando/Green Bay, WI; Thandisizwe Jackson- Nisan/Minneapolis, MN; Erika Banchy/Eau Claire, WI; Jillian Chmiel/Minneapolis, MN; Mary Heath/Golden Valley, MN; Caitlin Moriarty/Shoreview, MN; Fayise Abrahim/Worthington, MN.

About Future Frontrunners

Future Frontrunners, first created in 2004, is part of LIFETIME Networks' award-winning, nonpartisan Every Woman Counts campaign. The competition for high school and college students was launched in partnership with CosmoGIRL's Project 2024 to promote girls leadership, and Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan, non-profit campaign to register more 18-year-olds to vote. Young Women's Leadership Conference '08, a project of the National Council of Women's Organizations, a nonprofit representing more than 15 million women nationwide, also co-hosted the Summit. To help promote the contest, LIFETIME Networks aired PSAs featuring artist and actress Ashlee Simpson. Contestants submitted written or video essays at myLifetime.com answering the question, "What would you do if you were president?" Winning entries were selected by a distinguished, bipartisan panel of judges, including Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Candy Crowley, Senior Political Correspondent, CNN, and Dr. Donna Shalala, President, University of Miami. The competition was open to women nationwide, ages 16-22.

About LIFETIME Networks

LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

About Every Woman Counts

Every Woman Counts is the only public service campaign dedicated to encouraging women to speak out on the issues they care about most, vote and run for office. For the first time, the 2008 Every Woman Counts initiative will leverage the power of the #1 and #2 television networks' for women - Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) - and include the most extensive on- air programming, digital content and grassroots efforts to date. To expand the effort and reach women everywhere they live, work and play, Lifetime launched the first-ever Every Woman Counts media and advocacy coalition in partnership with REDBOOK, CosmoGIRL, Marie Claire, celebrities, experts and hundreds of women's nonprofit organizations representing more than 15 million women from all sides of the political spectrum

NOTE: A Future Frontrunners Summit was also held at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, August 25. Details are available upon request.

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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080804/NYM123LOGO

Source: LIFETIME Networks

CONTACT: Lindsay Drewel, +1-202-627-8100, lindsay@lindsaydrewelpr.com,
or Nancy Bennett, 1-800-834-1110, nancy@nancybennett.info

Web site: http://www.lifetimetv.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment