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For Immediate Release
April 15, 2015
Contact: Michele Mooney, 614-620-1507
$11,000 in Scholarships awarded at Invention Convention
Southwest Ohio Regional Finals
Cincinnati, Ohio—Aspiring inventors in grades K-8 brought their solutions to everyday problems to the 2015
Invention Convention Southwest Regional Finals presented by Time Warner Cable’s Connect a
Million Minds, on Saturday, April 11 at the Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave. Scholarships
totaling $11,000 were awarded to young inventors for their creations.
The grand prize award, the Edison scholarship for $2,500, was presented to Riley Hodson, a 4th grader at Valley
View Intermediate in Germantown, for her invention, “The Handi-Washer”. Her invention is a low cost,
durable and sustainable hand-washing station to help alleviate illnesses caused by spreading germs.
First Place Winners of a $500 college scholarship were:
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Grade 2, Matthew Allison, Monticello Elementary, Huber Heights, for “Safety Tips”, an invention that
keeps fingers safe when grating cheese;
Grade 3, Anna Harris, South Vienna Elementary, Northeast Local, for her invention, “The Gear-in-Here
Hat” designed to keep winter gloves, scarf and hat together;
Grade 4, Colin Sinner, Seipelt Elementary, Milford Exempted Village for “Cool Legs”, an invention to
keep his legs cool while playing soccer;
Grade 5, Ryan Martz, Concord Elementary, Troy, for his invention of “The Fire Melter 2000”, created
to prevent snow build up around fire hydrants;
Grade 6, Christian Threm, St. Andrew-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Milford, for “Toilet Sheriff”,
created to prevent toilets from overflowing;
Grade 7, Loring Leitzel, St. Gabriel Consolidated, Cincinnati, for his invention, “Deleitsalinator”, created
to provide access to clean water (Leitzel also received The Ohio Soybean Council Foundation’s Beyond
the Bean scholarship for $1,000);
Grade 8, Yo’Maris Powers, ECOT, Cincinnati, for “The Chip Dip Sprayable” invention that provides a
clean bowl for dips and salsa
Second place awards were given in each grade as well as ten Superior Awards and three Ohio Soybean Council
Foundation's specialty awards, "Beyond the Bean for Excellence in Agricultural and Environmental Innovation”
worth $250, $500 and $1,000.
The Teacher of Excellence award was given to Karen Keeran of Piqua City Schools. Nominated by Sarah
Pleasant, a parent whose daughters attend Piqua City Schools, “Keeran creates a positive atmosphere for
innovation and keeps children excited and engaged.”
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Sarah Jones, an Invention Convention alumnus whose invention, Anti-Bac Wrap, a plastic wrap that changes
color with the presence of bacteria, earned her a scholarship in 1999, was awarded the Alumni Ambassador
Award for her continued support of the Invention Convention Program.
A complete list of winners from the Southwest Ohio Regional Finals can be found at
www.inventionconvention.org. The Northeast Ohio Regional Finals will be held on Saturday, May 2 followed by
the Central Ohio Regional Finals on Saturday, May 9.
About Invention Convention
The mission of Invention Convention is to inspire curiosity, confidence, invention and creative problem solving
in our youth. Our goals are to enhance student performance in Ohio’s Core Curriculum Standards including
math, science and language arts through administration of The Invention Convention program and to increase
the interest of Ohio’s students in science, technology, art, engineering and math (STEAM) careers. Invention
Convention is a program of the Ohio Academy of Science.
About Connect a Million Minds
In 2009 Time Warner Cable (TWC) launched a new philanthropic initiative, Connect a Million Minds (CAMM),
that challenged parents, mentors and others to connect over one million students to after-school STEM
activities to address this “inspiration gap”. To date, TWC has provided cash and in-kind investments far in
excess of its original $100 million commitment to inspire student interest in STEM. Program highlights include:
original PSAs that challenge public perceptions of STEM; a unique website, ww.connectamillionminds.com, where
parents and community members can pledge to connect young people with the wonders of science; “The
Connectory”, a one-of-a-kind online resource that makes it simple and easy for parents and students to find
informal science and technology learning opportunities in their communities; grants to support non-profit
organizations that bring stimulating, high-quality and affordable after- school STEAM learning to students; TWC
employees, over 47,000 strong, who volunteer their time at community events like science fairs and robotics
competitions, and share their passion for engineering and technology with students at CAMM career days. In
May 2014, together with its partners, TWC exceeded its goal of connecting one million students to STEM
opportunities and today, continues connecting students to high quality STEM learning opportunities.
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