Auburn Artist Reif Erickson's Work Selected for Cover of SureWest's Auburn/Grass Valley/Nevada City Telephone Directory; First Annual Directory Art Program.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ROSEVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2004

Auburn artist Reif Erickson's painting entitled "Crossing the North Fork" was selected for the cover of integrated communications provider SureWest Communications' (Nasdaq:SURW) 2004 Auburn/Grass Valley/Nevada City telephone directory. Erickson's work was chosen as part of SureWest's first annual "Bringing Art Back to Business" directory cover art program. The directory is being distributed to the public in June.

"The opportunity to recognize high quality local artists and their work, such as that of Reif Erickson on the cover of our telephone directory, is a natural extension of SureWest's involvement in the community. We are a local company working with other local companies to promote their businesses," said Mark Triplett, general manager, SureWest Directories. "We work with local charities and community groups. We serve on the boards of area non-profits and Chambers of Commerce. We are regular users of the services that our advertisers promote in our directories, so bringing this type of art to more of a mass audience is both exciting and important."

Erickson's art was selected by local community and business leaders including Bruce Cosgrove, executive director, Auburn Chamber of Commerce; Howard Levine, executive director, Grass Valley Downtown Association; Dr. Tina Ludutsky-Taylor, provost, Sierra College Nevada County campus; and Angela Tahti, executive director, Arts Council of Placer County. A well-known Grass Valley illustrator, Jerianne Van Dijk, served as artistic adviser to SureWest for the competition.

Reif Erickson is an acclaimed pastel artist who travels extensively in California, Hawaii, and China, creating his "plein air" (outdoor) masterpieces.

"I touch the earth with my heart and paint the spirit of the land," said Erickson. "My paintings are more than pigment and paper. They are light, and heart, and I paint the heart of the land."

SureWest's Auburn, Grass Valley, Nevada City directory is an innovative 6" x 9" format, and is delivered through the United States Postal Service to customers in Placer and Nevada counties. SureWest designed its directories to fit in rural community mail boxes rather than litter the road sides. In addition to Auburn, Grass Valley and Nevada City, the directory is distributed to Colfax, Meadow Vista, Lake of the Pines, Alta Sierra, Penn Valley/Lake Wildwood, Cool and other surrounding communities.

SureWest also had a "Bringing Art Back to Business" directory cover art program in Sacramento for that area's 2004 directory, and will have a similar program for the 2005 Roseville/Citrus Heights/Granite Bay directory.

About SureWest

With 90 years in Northern California, SureWest and its family of companies represent an integrated network of highly reliable advanced communications products and services. SureWest provides digital TV, fiber optics, PCS wireless, DSL, high-speed Internet access, data transport, local and long distance telephone service, and directories with the highest standards of customer care. For more information, visit the SureWest Web site at www.surewest.com.