INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance again will offer college scholarships to Indiana high school students through the company’s eXceL Awards competition. Creative students who excel in various forms of artistic expression are invited to enter. The competition has been funded and administered by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance since its inception in 1989. The company has awarded more than six hundred thousand dollars to students since the program’s inception.

Secrets is the topic for the 2007-2008 competition. This topic was chosen by last year’s eXceL Awards state finalists from ideas submitted to Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance. Students can enter their creative interpretation of Secrets in one of six categories: writing, music, two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art, video, or performance art.

The eXceL Awards will be featured in the Old National Bank Grand Hall at this year’s Indiana State Fair. The exhibit features winning entries from the 2006-2007 competition and allows kids of all ages a chance to explore their creativity by allowing them to fashion a piece all on their own.

Through the eXceL Awards, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance presents six state first-place winners $3,000 each, with $2,500 going to six second-place contestants and $2,000 going to six third-place entrants. An additional $1,000 will be awarded to the student whose entry is considered “Best of Show.” The Indiana high school with the highest total number of entries advancing to the state finals is awarded a $3,000 cash prize. During the 2006-2007 competition, nearly 5,200 entries were received from more than 240 high schools and several home schools throughout the state.

Information about the eXceL Awards competition, rules, and how to enter is available online at www.infarmbureau.com/excel. Additional details and entry information also are available from Special Markets Coordinator Pam Walker Sipes at 800-866-1160, extension 7748. Entries may be submitted from January 21-25, 2008, at any local Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance office.

The eXceL Awards State Finals will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2008, at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center on the University of Indianapolis campus. The state finals are free and open to the public.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, organized in 1934 by Indiana Farm Bureau, Inc., has grown to include insurance products for auto, life, home, business and farm. Banking and other financial services and products also are available through its local offices. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance serves Hoosiers through an extensive network of more than 450 agents and 1,200 employees living and working throughout the state. With a home office in downtown Indianapolis and local offices in all 92 counties, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance is the largest writer of farm insurance and the second largest writer of personal lines insurance in the state.