Oct 9, 2008

LUND Sponsors Young Inventor Challenge at Chicago Toy and Game Fair

CHICAGO, IL – Lund and Company Invention, L.L.C. announced today that they will be sponsoring and coordinating the Young Inventor Challenge (YIC) at the 2008 Chicago Toy and Game Fair (www.ChiTAG.com), November 22-23 at Navy Pier Festival Hall. Students age 18 and younger may enter original game and toy inventions to be judged by popular vote and win great prizes. Top toy and game industry representatives will offer advice and recognition and encourage all young inventors to “dream big and discover the possibilities of play.”

“We have a very special program this year, and we are thrilled that Lund will be heading up the Young Inventor Challenge and bringing top professional inventor expertise,” commented Mary Couzin, ChiTAG Executive Director. “Lund has designed some of the hottest toys on the market, and the kids participating in this program will be very lucky to get to know one of our country’s foremost toy design and product invention firms.”

Among the prizes will be a feature article on the winner and a one-year subscription to Inventor’s Digest, a box of games from ChiTAG and lunch for the winner and their family with sponsors Bruce Lund, Founder of Lund; Mike Hirtle, Head of Global Product Acquisition and Inventor Relations at Hasbro; Dave Okada, Vice President, Inventor Relations at Mattel; and Chip Voigt, CEO of Fundex. These sponsors, as well as other industry and media representatives will be reviewing all toy and game inventions in the YIC.

“We believe imagination and play are crucial to healthy development and community well-being,” Couzin continued. “Inventive thinking has been identified as an essential twenty-first century skill by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and educational institututions around the world. Now we bring together imagination, play and inventive thinking in the second annual Young Inventor Challenge.”

Boy Scouts participating in the YIC may also qualify for an Entrepreneur Merit Badge, courtesy of Daniel Sabato, a Merit Badge Counselor and marketing executive at Fundex. All boy and girl scouts in uniform will get in free to the ChiTAG Fair.

Fair attendees will be instructed to review the entries and make decisions based on originality, creativity, appeal of the invention and presentation of the marketing message. All participants will be recognized at a ceremony at 12 p.m. on Sunday, November 23 on the main stage of ChiTAG.

“We are honored to be heading up the Young Inventor Challenge at this year’s Toy and Game Fair,” commented Lund. “We at Lund are dedicated to the proposition that toys and games are profoundly important in human development – so this is a perfect opportunity for us to put that belief into play.”

For information on the Young Inventor Challenge or to obtain entry packets, contact Jessie at Lund and Company Invention, L.L.C., admin@lundandcompany.com, 708-689-8233.