Subject: [NEXTEL-1] 'Sailor of the Year' Honored on 'Nextel Night' at Padres Game

From: "marcel_rf1" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2003 20:17:38 -0000

'Sailor of the Year' Honored on 'Nextel Night' at Padres Game -
Nextel 
Reminds Americans to Donate Wireless Phones to Support Military 
Families

News Editors/Assignment Desks
ADVISORY...Saturday (June 7)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

American Red Cross, the Padres and Nextel Communications Join
Forces to Create a Simple Way for All Americans to Support
Military Members and Their Families

WHAT:       Tomorrow during "Nextel Night" at the San Diego Padres
game, the opening pitch will be thrown by the USS
Constellation Sailor of the Year, Zamone Bennett. DK2
Bennett is from Los Angeles and has been in the US Navy
for four and a half years. He was named USS
Constellation's 2002 Sailor of the Year based on his
exemplary performance and outstanding accomplishments.
Zamone joins us tonight along with his wife Rasheedah.

The American Red Cross and Nextel Communications would
like to take this opportunity to remind the San Diego
community to participate in a national campaign for the
American Red Cross by donating their old wireless phones
at Nextel stores across the country. This nationwide
DONATE A PHONE(R) campaign will help raise critical funds
for the American Red Cross. After recycling and
refurbishing the phones, Nextel will donate the net
proceeds of the resale value, which averages $1.50 for
each phone collected, to American Red Cross Armed Forces
Emergency Services, the arm of the organization that
supports service members and their families. The public
can donate their phones and make tax-deductible cash
donations to the American Red Cross at any one of the six
Nextel stores located throughout the Greater San Diego
Area.

WHEN:       Saturday, June 7, 2003 at 7:00 PM

WHY:        As long as U.S. troops are deployed - combat or not -
there is a need to keep them connected with loved ones
back home. Since January, demand for American Red Cross
services has increased significantly:

--  The American Red Cross estimates it will need
approximately $8 million over the next several months
to facilitate emergency communication, mobilize and
deploy workers to affected areas, reach out to
National Guard/Reservists and their families, and
provide other vital services.

--  The organization assisted 20,768 families worldwide in
March through its 24/7 emergency communications
network, which is connected to military installations,
ships at sea and embassies located around the world.
As compared to November 2002, the number of families
served is up by more than 48 percent.

--  There are 36 American Red Cross workers deployed to
the Persian Gulf region to ensure troops receive
urgent news from loved ones back home. Sixty-five
percent of the messages delivered relate to the death
or serious illness of a family member and 20 percent
concern the arrival of a new son or daughter. The
remaining messages relate to other urgent issues at
home.

WHERE:      Qualcomm Stadium. Interested media should call contacts
listed below to secure local interviews with the American
Red Cross and Nextel representatives.

Any day of game creditional requests should be faxed to Padres Media 
Relations Department: 619/497-5454.

--30--DES/ph*

CONTACT: Nextel Communications
Jennifer Weland, 925/279-2363
Nextel: 925/260-6506
[email-masked]
or
San Diego Red Cross
Gayle Falkenthal, 619/542-4686
[email-masked]
or
Carter Ryley Thomas for Nextel
Ryan Wenger, 804/675-8155
Mobile: 818/720-6060
[email-masked]

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.060
603/231575429&directory=/altavista&header_file=header.htm&footer_file=

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