From: http://sev.prnewswire.com/banking-financial-services/20070612/NETU09412062007-1.html

National High School Speech Competitors Vie for Championship Titles and $88,000 in Scholarships and Prizes

WICHITA, Kan., June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- More than 3,000 U.S. high school speech students, accompanied by their coaches, teachers, parents and other supporters, will gather in Derby/Wichita, KS this week to compete in a week-long tournament for the title of National Champion in the Lincoln Financial Group(R)/National Forensic League National Speech Tournament. The tournament features several categories such as policy debate, humor, drama, and original oratory. The event's national sponsor, Lincoln Financial Group, will award $88,000 in college scholarships and prizes.

Throughout the 2006 - 2007 academic year, more than 91,000 students from 2,800 U.S. high schools competed to earn the privilege of participating in the national tournament. Competition will take place throughout the week leading up to the final rounds, which begin on Thursday, June 21, at 4:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. and continue Friday, June 22, from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the Wichita Century II Convention Hall.

Immediately following the final rounds, scholarship winners will be announced in an awards assembly in the Wichita Century II Convention Hall beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 22.

Lincoln Financial Group awards $79,000 in scholarships and prizes to the National Champions and $9,000 to qualifying students and schools, with scholarship monies allotted in two categories:

Participant of the Year

Five national qualifiers will be honored as Participants of the Year and each will be awarded a $1,000 college scholarship. These five students represent the 91,000 students who participate annually in National Forensic League activities.

School Participants of the Year

This is a new award that will honor eight qualifying schools as School Participants of the Year, and each selected school will receive a $500 National Forensic League Program scholarship. These eight schools represent more than 950 schools that attend the Nationals annually.

For the second year in a row, students from Seoul, South Korea, will attend this year's National Speech Tournament and compete in main events. National Forensic League affiliate members from South Korea will participate in the first annual "Guest Country Program." In cooperation with the International Debate Education Association, the National Forensic League has arranged for the South Korean students to compete in the main event categories of International Extemporaneous speaking, Ted Turner Public Forum Debate, Original Oratory, and Interpretative Events.

Throughout the event and prior to the Lincoln Financial Group Lincoln-Douglas Debate rounds on the morning of Friday, June 22, participants will have the opportunity to meet and hear the man who inspired this debate style: Abraham Lincoln. Portrayed by Richard "Fritz" Klein, one of the foremost Lincoln actors of today, "Mr. Lincoln" will speak and be available for photos and autographs. The Lincoln Financial Group Lincoln-Douglas Debates take their name from the senatorial campaign debates of 1858, when respected orator and U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas (D-Ill.) went head-to-head with Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln during a series of seven debates on the subject of slavery and states' sovereignty.

"To me, there is not a problem in our world that does not have, at its core, the inability of one person or one group of people to communicate with another," said Jon A. Boscia, chairman and chief executive officer of Lincoln Financial Group. "That's why Lincoln Financial encourages students to participate in the training that the National Forensic League provides."

Lincoln Financial Group has served as National and Grand National sponsor of the National Forensic League since 1994 and of the Lincoln Financial Group(R) Refreshers at many of the National Forensic League district tournaments across the country. In addition to its support of the National Forensic League, Lincoln Financial Group sponsors other educational endeavors.

About the National Forensic League National Speech Tournament:

The Lincoln Financial Group(R) / National Forensic League National Speech Tournament is organized and run by the National Forensic League, a non-partisan, not-for-profit educational honorary society based in Ripon, WI. National Forensic League alumni include former Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Supreme Court Justice Steven Breyer, former Attorney General Janet Reno, U.S. Senators Richard Lugar (R- Ind.) and William Frist (R-Tenn.), television host Jane Pauley, media mogul Ted Turner, C-Span president Brian Lamb, and television and screen stars Oprah Winfrey, Kelsey Grammer, James Dean, Bette Midler, and Shelley Long.

About Lincoln Financial Group:

Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) and its affiliates. With headquarters in Philadelphia, the companies of Lincoln Financial Group had assets under management of $237 billion as of March 31, 2007. Through its affiliated companies, Lincoln Financial Group offers: annuities; life, group life and disability insurance; 401(k) and 403(b) plans; savings plans; mutual funds; managed accounts; institutional investments; and comprehensive financial planning and advisory services. Affiliates also include: Delaware Investments, the marketing name for Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries; Lincoln Financial Media, which owns and operates three television stations, 18 radio stations, and the Lincoln Financial Sports production and syndication business; and Lincoln UK. For more information please visit http://www.lfg.com/.

Website: http://www.lfg.com/