INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance will continue offering college scholarships to Hoosier high school students through its eXceL Awards competition. Creative students with a flair for 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 $600,000 to students during the life of the competition.

Perspective is the topic for the 2008-2009 competition. Students can enter their creative interpretation of Perspective in any of six categories: writing, music, two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art, video or performance art.

The eXceL Awards are featured in the Grand Hall at the Indiana State Fair. The exhibit features past winning entries and allows kids of all ages a chance to explore their creativity through fashioning artwork of their own.

Through the eXceL Awards, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance presents six first-place winners $3,000 each, six second-place winners with $2,500 each and six third-place winners with $2,000 each. An additional $1,000 is awarded to the student whose entry is considered “Best of Show.” The high school with the highest total number of entries advancing to the state finals receives a $3,000 cash prize. More than 4,000 entries were received in the 2007-2008 competition, representing more than 240 high schools and several home schools throughout the state.

Information about the eXceL Awards competition and rules are available online at www.infarmbureau.com/excel, through MySpace at www.myspace.com/excelawards or on Flickr at www.flickr.com/people/excelawards/. Entry information is also available from Beth Wheeler, eXceL Awards coordinator, at 800-723-FARM (3276), extension 7748. Entries may be submitted from Dec. 8 through 12 at any local Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance office.

The eXceL Awards state finals will be held March 14, 2009 at the Christel DeHann Fine Arts Center on the University of Indianapolis campus. The state finals are free and open to the public.