WATERVILLE – Keisha Small, an 18-year-old Lawrence High School senior who is also enrolled in Mass Media Communications at Mid-Maine Technical Center, has been selected by Kennebec Federal Savings as the winner of the local round of the “Lights, Camera, Save!” video competition sponsored by the American Bankers Association.

The competition, open to those 13 to 18 years old, solicits original short videos from teens nationwide; each video must promote the value of saving money and using money

Keisha Small left, and Allan Rancourt, president of Kennebec Federal Savings.

wisely among teens. Small worked with her MMTC teammate, Mason Cormier, to create the video. Her teacher at MMTC is Dave Boardman, Mass Media Communications Instructor.

Small submitted the 90-second video to Kennebec Federal Savings, the local participating financial institution for the “Lights, Camera, Save!” video competition. Kennebec Federal Savings selected Keisha’s video to advance to the national competition, and also announced at a ceremony held in Waterville on January 15 that they were awarding Keisha a new GoPro camera.

“We chose a storyline approach to the video, to draw people in,” Small said, according to a news release from Kennebec Federal Savings. “We wanted to show that smart, regular saving can not only help you pay bills, but also help you do really enjoyable things, like taking trips.”

Small’s video, along with all the entries submitted by banks across the country, now advances to the national competition, where it will be reviewed by ABA Foundation judges. They will select up to 6 videos as finalists to be shown for the Savers’ Choice social media contest and Bankers’ Choice contest.

The first-, second, and third-place winners will receive cash prizes of $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000 respectively, to fund their savings goals. Each winner’s school also will receive a scholarship for a teacher to attend the 2020 Jump$tart National Educator Conference.

To view the winning video entry, visit youtube.com.