Awards Ceremony & Party

February 14th, 2007 was a Valentine's Day none of us will ever forget. The entire Beverly Center building seemed to quiver with the growing excitement of that morning, as dozens of staff and volunteers put the finishing touches together for the 450 guests. Celebrity judges and readers made their way through the press line-up. Teachers, families and finalists lined up for the check-in.

64 children had made it to the final group of winners out of over 10,000 contestants! Each had real reason to be proud and celebrate.

The Warner Avenue Elementary Honor Choir with Vocal Director Mark Mattson began the festivities with a new song written for the occasion. Marcia Smith, SAG Foundation's Executive Director, welcomed everyone, then passed the mic to the delightful Jerry Penacoli, Host of Extra! and the Awards' Emcee.

Then, from ages 6 to 11, each group came up on stage to receive their prizes. There were 10 contestants per age category, and every one of them won an award. Each 1st Place Winner's entry was read aloud by a special celebrity guest.

In addition to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place prizes, every finalist and teacher received a generous gift bag, and there were a few special prizes as well!

Teacher Anita Wozniak was given a trip for two to New York City.
Deberath Ramirez won a great backpack full of goodies, and her school was given a collection of books for its library.
Clifton Hibbert's school was given a collection of books.
Madison Stingray's personal donation to a school in South Africa was matched, and the school was also given funds to buy books.
Teacher Sheila McGuckin was given a We the Children family-heritage book writing project for her class.
The City of Palm Springs honored Jordan Kessler's entry with dinner & hotel accommodations for his family and a ceremony at City Hall.
Kasey Constantino and Jimmy Zhou were generously awarded by PETCO for their entries about pets.

At last, it was time to award the Grand Prize. Henri Zimand, of Zimand Entertainment and co-creator of this contest, happily handed a stunned Nicholas Podany a check for $5,000. Nicholas had written a moving story about a fight with his older sister, and the judges unanimously chose him as the Grand Prize Winner. As Nicholas' sister joined him on stage, his entry was read by the talented Esai Morales. There was not a dry eye in the room!

The Warner Choir closed the ceremony with another round of the "Love Equals" song, and a fabulous "Love Medley". Afterwards, everyone was invited to enjoy the wonderful food and beverages on the perfectly sunny patio, amidst media interviews, photos, and excited chatter.

It was, indeed, a Valentine's Day none of us will ever forget.

— Screen Actors' Guild Foundation & Zimand Entertainment

Screen Actors Guild Foundation, in partnership with Zimand Entertainment, wishes to thank everyone who made the Love Equals 2007 Awards Ceremony a tremendous success.

The DVD of the Love Equals Awards Ceremony 2007 is ready! Every Finalist has been sent his or her own copy of the DVD. Copies are also available for purchase. To order a DVD of the Love Equals Awards Ceremony 2007, download and print this order form.

Winners

6 YEAR OLDS

4th Anahit Gassabian
Nicole Kim
Julia Lester
Madison Sawyer

3rd Elena DeBre
Kai Tanna-Williams
Sebastian Van Hemert

2nd Isabella Franco
Nicole Hiromoto

1st Cleo Taneja

7 YEAR OLDS

4th Won Jin Michelle Ahn
Alexandria Axt
Quinn Solis
Kai Jaine Sutton

3rd Paula Bautista
Pooja Gopi
Asia Harvey

2nd Robert Hong
Kevin Leon

1st Sofia Siapkas

8 YEAR OLDS

4th Christian Cuyco
Emma Hodge
Deberath Ramirez
Margo Tannewitz

3rd Bo Flynn
Jessica He
Betty Kim

2nd Kayla Chung
Emma Sarah Liberman

1st Caroline Mayhew

9 YEAR OLDS

4th Katelyn Castiglia
Iman Gumby
Rebecca Halley
Kayla Valencia

3rd Saul Garcia
Chaeli Gutierrez
Brenna Miller

2nd Jose Soto
Elizabeth Yu

1st Clifton Hibbert

10 YEAR OLDS

4th Sara Glazer
Imani Imhotep
Michael Len
Madison Stingray

3rd Isabel DeBre
Arturo Garcia
Benjamin Velaise

2nd Annie Kors
Larissa Salgado

1st Ryan Oblea

11 YEAR OLDS

4th Sean Heffernan
Diana Kim
Nicole Morgan
Jeremy Papesh

3rd Lilli Elias
James Mayhew
Jordan Yang-Eaves

2nd Sophia Eckerle
Sangita Rajan

1st Andrea Trejo

SPECIAL AWARDS

PALM SPRINGS Jordan Kessler

PETCO Kasey Constantino
Jimmy Zhou

GRAND PRIZE

Nicholas Podany AGE 10

Love Equals Love

Words and Music by Mark Mattson and Bobby Kranc
Š2007 by Mark Mattson and Bobby Kranc

In a world that's ever changing
We all search for what is true
And love, it's said, is the common thread
That runs through me and you
But if you want to know it's meaning
Those who seek will surely find
There are so many different ways that you can define
What equals Love

It's the laughter and the pain
It's the sunshine and the rain
Feeling things you can't explain
That Equals Love
It's the hope your heart defends
It's the joy of caring friends
It's the dream that never ends
That Equals Love

Only love can ease your burdens
Give you strength to have and hold
And it's love alone, takes a heart of stone
And turns it into gold
Love has power if you share it
Like a spark that starts to burn
When you give it to somebody in need that's when you will learn
What equals love

It's the laughter and the pain
It's the sunshine and the rain
Feeling things you can't explain
That Equals Love
It's the hope your heart defends
It's the joy of caring friends
It's the dream that never ends
That Equals Love

It's the kindness you can show
In your heart you feel it grow
Open up and let it flow
That Equals Love
When the fear and hate are gone
Deep inside you'll hear a song
And the world will sing along
Love Equals Love

Love, Love, Love
Love, Love, Love
Love Equals Love