Dallas Cowboy Daryl Johnston Becomes GTE's DFW Area Literacy Champion; Official Introduction to Occur During Feb. 6 Dallas County Community Colleges/GTE Reads Event at Majestic Theater.

Sports &Education Editors

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2000

Dallas Cowboy Daryl Johnston and GTE are partnering in the support of literacy in the Dallas area as Johnston becomes GTE's newest Literacy Champion. As one of GTE's 10 Literacy Champions nationwide, Johnston will serve as a local spokesperson, helping to raise the awareness of literacy through a variety of events and programs. This local partnership will benefit Dallas Reads -- a collaborative organization of 55 literacy providers in the Dallas area.

Johnston's introduction as GTE's newest Literacy Champion will be made at the &uot;African American Read-In 2000--Ancestral Journeys&uot; program that kicks off the area's month-long celebration of Black history month. The event, presented by the Dallas County Community College District and GTE Reads - a non profit charity that benefits literacy providers -- will be held February 6 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas.

&uot;We believe Daryl Johnston's long-standing commitment and involvement in literacy and his professionalism is in concert with GTE's determination to bring awareness to this issue in America,&uot; said Andy Brown, assistant vice president-community economic development for GTE. &uot;On the playing field, Daryl's work ethic, reliability and commitment to getting the job done makes him just the kind of role model we want our GTE Literacy Champions to be.&uot;

&uot;Teaming up with GTE for the cause of literacy is exactly the type of partnership that I have been looking for,&uot; said Johnston. &uot;I have always believed that the foundation for a successful and productive life is education, and literacy is the foundation of a good education. An average of 33% of all Texas 9th graders drop out before finishing high school. These 9th graders will have to get literacy training to be productive, contributing citizens.&uot;

Johnston's determination to succeed has made him one of the most popular and respected Dallas Cowboys. A graduate of Syracuse University, he knew early that he needed to prepare for a career beyond football. He received high marks while at Syracuse and throughout high school. In his off time, Johnston has hosted many sports talk shows and plans on expanding his career to broadcasting after he retires from the Cowboys. &uot;I wasn't the fastest football player, or the biggest or the strongest, so I realized early in my career that I would have to prepare and be willing to give 100% to achieve my goals,&uot; said Johnston. &uot;This has been fundamental to my success. When I was in college I prepared and studied and when I am no longer a football player I will be prepared to go on with other career pursuits.&uot;

Johnston has been a strong literacy advocate since 1993. He served as a panelist at Governor Bush's Reading Summit and in '97 was selected by the Governor as the first Reading Ambassador of Texas.

GTE last November launched a nationwide fundraising effort called &uot;Check Into Literacy!&uot; that enables GTE customers to donate $1 per month to support literacy by checking a box on the payment remittance slip in their monthly GTE bills. Once customers have check the box, GTE will include $1 donation on each monthly bill as a line item. All funds collected through this initiative go to GTE Reads, which in turn, are distributed back to the local communities in which they were collected via programs of qualified local and national literacy organizations.

For more information about GTE Reads, other literacy champions and the &uot;Check Into Literacy&uot; initiative , visit http://www.gtereads.org.

About GTE

With 1999 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is a leading telecommunications provider with one of the industry's broadest arrays of products and services. In the United States, GTE provides local service in 28 states and wireless service in 18 states, as well as nationwide long-distance, directory, and internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and small-business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500 companies. Outside the United States, the company serves customers on five continents. Additional information about GTE can be obtained at http://www.gte.com.

GTE's community and philanthropic programs target excellence in education, particularly math, science, technology and literacy. GTE also supports job training, delivery of health and human services, and the arts. The company's newest program is GTE Reads, a public charity designed to create public awareness, increase funding and support organizations dedicated to improving America's literacy levels. GTE customers can contribute to GTE Reads by checking off a box on their bill. Others can contribute through GTE Superpages.com (http://www.superpages.com).