2003 Nicholas Green Scholarship Award Recipients to Be Honored at Annual Luncheon.

News Editors/Education Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2003

The tradition of honoring a young boy's legacy continues on Wednesday, May 21, 2003, when the Nicholas Green Scholarship Fund will hold its ninth annual luncheon at 12:00pm at the International Ballroom West of the Washington Hilton Hotel, prior to the Investment Company Institute's General Membership Meeting. This event provides a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of the fund and celebrate the awarding of this year's scholarships to several deserving young students.

Each year, in cooperation with the National Alliance for Excellence and the National Association for Gifted Children, two national non-profit organizations, the Nicholas Green Scholarship Fund considers for its scholarship awards several applications from elementary school, high school and college students. The final applicants are reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of industry leaders.

"The decision is an incredibly difficult one in that all of the finalists are wonderfully talented," says Daniel T. Geraci, executive vice president of asset management with The Phoenix Companies, Inc., who served as one of this year's judges. "It is both a pleasure and an honor to be part of this worthy cause."

The winners of the Nicholas Green National Distinguished Student Awards were chosen from names submitted by the National Association for Gifted Children. The three winners for 2003 are Lisa Vavricka, from Bondy Intermediate School in Pasadena, Texas, Chelsea Link of Lafayette, Louisiana, and Elissa Renk, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The three winners will receive awards ranging from $1,000-$1,500. This year's high school/college level honorees are Daniel Tsai from Yorktown (NY) High School, Kelsey Erdahl of Mequon, Wisconsin, and Jonathan Elkin, of Agoura Hills, Ca.., who is now a freshman at Stanford University. These finalists were derived from a list of candidates provided by the National Alliance for Excellence.

Tsai, who received a $2,500 award, hopes to pursue a career in financial engineering, economics and music. He plans to use the Nicholas Green Scholarship to travel to the Middle East to study the world's three major religions-Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Erdahl, an aspiring harp professor and recording artist, received an award of $2,000. Her award will go toward study with a harpist from a prominent European or Asian orchestra. Elkin, a human rights activist, was awarded $1,500, which he intends to use for study in Israel to explore his interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

About the Nicholas Green Scholarship Fund

The Nicholas Green Scholarship Fund was created in 1994 in memory of Nicholas Green, the 7-year old son of Reg Green, formerly head of public information at the Investment Company Institute, The National Association of Mutual Funds, and his wife Maggie. Nicholas was killed in a tragic act of violence while vacationing with his family in Italy. His family's decision to donate his organs so that others might live has become known the world over. Recently, their story was told in the critically acclaimed made-for-television movie, "Nicholas' Gift", starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Reg Green's book "The Nicholas Effect: A Boy's Gift to the World" emphasized the positive effects that their gesture has had on worldwide organ donation rates, and on their lives.

The Greens' bravery inspired the mutual fund industry to establish the scholarship fund as a way of keeping the memory of Nicholas alive. Since he was a bright, talented boy, the Fund's mission is to recognize and support the educational and career goals of America's outstanding students.