Bay Area Fathers of the Year Announced; Lieutenant Governor and Four Business Leaders Share Honors; Gala Event Benefiting the American Diabetes Association Planned.

News Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2002

California's Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and four prominent business leaders have been named as the 2002 Fathers of the Year by the Bay Area Fathers Day Council. The five will be honored at a gala event on June 12 at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The Bay Area chapter of the National Father's Day Council is a volunteer organization that annually honors individuals who exemplify outstanding commitment to children, family and community. Over the past 16 years the Council has raised more than $4 million to find a cure for diabetes.

The 2002 Bay Area Fathers of the Year are: Joseph J. Ahern, President and General Manager, ABC 7 KGO-TV (residence: Marin County); Cruz M. Bustamante, Lieutenant Governor, State of California (residence: Sacramento and Fresno); Edward T. Hawthorne, Vice President, Bank of America (residence: Solano County); Eric P. Milledge, Company Group Chairman, LifeScan, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company (residence: Santa Clara County); and P. Anthony Price, Managing Director, Russell Reynolds Associates (residence: San Francisco).

"We are proud to honor these five exceptional fathers who have demonstrated the ability to balance their personal lives while achieving a high level of success in their chosen careers, and who serve as outstanding role models in our community," said Dwight Holing, Chair of the Bay Area Fathers Day Council. "They deserve recognition not only as fathers and community leaders, but for the fight they are leading to prevent and find the cure for diabetes."

Diabetes is a serious, life-threatening and incurable disease that can lead to loss of life or complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease and amputations if untreated. Diabetes occurs when the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that "unlocks" the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death by disease; this year alone, diabetes will kill more than 200,000 people nationwide.

Nearly 17 million Americans, 1.25 million in California, have diabetes and 16 million more have pre-diabetes. More than one-third of those with diabetes are undiagnosed. Diabetes strikes one in 20 people in the general population, and African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans are twice as likely to be affected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls diabetes an "epidemic." The prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. population has increased by 50 percent since 1990. At the current rate of growth, more than 10 percent of Americans will have diabetes in ten years.

The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading voluntary health organization concerned with diabetes and its complications. Founded in 1940, the Association provides services in communities nationwide. The mission of the American Diabetes Association is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

The Bay Area Father of the Year Awards dinner will be held 6:00 p.m., June 12, at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco. The public is invited. Individual tickets cost $175. Sponsorships range from $2,000 to $25,000. For more information, call 1-800/828-8293, extension 7463.

Note to Editors: Photos available upon request.