January 8, 2004

CEOs Walk the Walk Team Crosses $100,000 Mark for 2003

Sixty CEOs of small and medium size businesses have raised over $100,000 for the March of Dimes in their second year as the CEOs Walk the Walk team. Determined to end the year with a stomp across the $100,000 finish line after a full year of fundraising, the team pulled out an eleventh-hour rally to raise the additional money needed to reach their goal by December 31st. The team ended the year with a solid finish, raising a total of $101,719. The team achieved notable rankings by the March of Dimes for their accomplishments – 4th largest team in North Texas, just under Bank of America, Vought and Citigroup, and 12th in the state of Texas.

"Who would have imagined we'd reach such a monumental milestone in only our second year!" Driskill says. "The money we're raising is ‘new money’ for the March of Dimes and this tremendous accomplishment demonstrates how powerful it can be and important it is when small and medium size business owners work together." Larry Brown, Superbowl XXX MVP and official spokesperson for CEOs Walk the Walk, says of the effort, "Whenever you reach the $100,000 mark for any foundation, you know that you're changing lives."

The CEOs group used sheer determination, hard work, and a number of creative means to raise money toward the team goal. One CEO held a silent auction at his company holiday party. One held fundraising gourmet dinners, inviting guests for a scrumptious meal with the admission price being a donation to the March of Dimes. Another CEO sent a mailing that included tiny plastic baby bottles in the envelopes as symbols of the efforts of the March of Dimes. And the team itself raised awareness and additional money with a gala reception and celebrity golf tournament.

Super fundraisers and special contributors include Cathy Sweeney, CRESA Partners Capital Markets; Don Hultgren, SWS Group, parent company of Southwest Securities; Cynthia Driskill, CDG; Don Hanratty, Optimance; Linda Crawford, Delta Dallas Staffing; Larry King, KBA Group, L.L.P.; Rollie Waters, The Waters Consulting Group; Greg Carr, CARR LLP Law Firm; Bill Cawley, Cawley International; Pauline Graivier, Verbal Communications, Inc.; Jack Bick, Inside Business; and Vincent Jackson, Marketing Moves, Inc.

Other top fundraisers include Robert Alexander, Geezer Geeks; Doug Anderson; Greg Boyd, ERG; Larry Burgess, Helmsman Financial Partners, LLP; Greg Bustin, Bustin & Co.; Tom Connor, Cheshier & Fuller, LLP; Paige Dawson, MPD Ventures Company; Matt Fossen, Viking Capital Group; Ed Harrison, Open4 by BMH; Meri Hazlewood-Davis, Phoenix Entertainment/Petals & Parchment; Gia Hooper, Cendera Technologies, Inc.; Joanne M. Ingle, DFW Movers & Erectors, Inc.; L. Kimberly Karl, representing Girl Scouts Cross Timbers Council; Nina Knight, Denitech Fort Worth, Inc.; Sue Moore, Legacy Women's Financial; Rudy Rodriguez, Castro Roofing; Jim Rose, Techlinc, Inc.; Bob Spurgin, Ben Spurgin Insurance; Michele Swayzer, Swayzer Engineering Incorporated; Dallas Taylor, TGS Architects/Taylor Gahl Studios; David Turner, NetSolstice; Mick & Patricia Twomey, Pendiant, LP; and Kay Gerlich Weeks, Neighborhood Diaper Delivery.

About CEOs Walk the Walk
CEOs Walk the Walk is a grassroots movement enabling small and medium size businesses to collectively make a big difference for charity. The group was established in 2002 when Cynthia Driskill, CEO of CDG and member of the Dallas Division Board of the March of Dimes, recognized an untapped market and piloted the CEOs Walk the Walk team to leverage the power of small and medium size businesses. The idea was that CEOs would walk on behalf of their employees, and their employees could raise funds on behalf of the CEOs. The CEOs Walk the Walk team is an unqualified success, raising $24,000 the first year, crossing the $100,000 mark in its second, and targeting $250,000 in 2004 for the March of Dimes. For more information visit www.ceoswalkthewalk.com.

About March of Dimes
The March of Dimes recently launched a five-year, $75 million prematurity campaign to conduct research, awareness and education into the growing national issue of prematurity.

About 1,280 premature babies are born every day and 467,000 are born each year in the United States – equaling one out of every eight babies. Many premature babies suffer lifelong consequences, such as mental retardation, chronic lung disease, cerebral palsy and blindness.

The average lifetime medical costs of a premature baby are conservatively estimated at $500,000. The total annual cost for premature babies runs into billions of dollars. The emotional cost is inestimable. The alarming increase in the number of premature births during the past 20 years has prompted the March of Dimes to launch the campaign.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health organization whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing prematurity, birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education and advocacy to save babies. For more information, please call 972-669-3463 or visit the March of Dimes’ Websites at www.modimes.org and www.nacersano.org.

For more information on the annual March of Dimes WalkAmerica, visit the Web site at www.walkamerica.org.