Two West Virginia Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C.; Actor Ted Danson and Olympic Champion Joey Cheek Pay Tribute to Young Heroes as Part of Four-Day Recognition Events.

WASHINGTON -- Two West Virginia students, Erin Lavery, 17, of Huntington and Jacob Hixenbaugh, 15, of Fairmont were honored in the nation's capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2006 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people - along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country - received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from actor Ted Danson and Olympic speedskating champion Joey Cheek at the 11th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Erin and Jacob were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in West Virginia in February. In addition to their cash awards, they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for this week's recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 11 years ago by Prudential Financial, Inc. to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then, the program has honored more than 70,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

"Erin and Jacob exemplify the spirit of community that is so important to the future of our neighborhoods, our towns and our nation," said Arthur F. Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential. "By honoring them, we hope not only to give them the recognition they so richly deserve, but also to inspire others to follow their example."

Erin, a senior at Huntington High School, organized a monthlong nutrition and physical fitness education program that included the use of pedometers by all 1,600 students and staff at her school. As an athlete and lifelong volunteer, Erin wanted to help classmates and staff members develop a commitment to healthy eating habits and physical activity. "Recent health statistics show that the prevalence of obesity in West Virginia is among the highest in the nation," she noted. "I wanted to take a proactive stand to do something about this."

As the student volunteer on a Partnership in Education Committee, Erin played an integral role in developing the "Highlanders on the Move Pedometer Program." The idea for this project came from a small pilot program using pedometers at a nearby school, which became the nucleus of a much larger and more comprehensive health education program at Erin's school. Erin developed handouts and a video to introduce the program, and then recruited student volunteers to help her distribute pedometers donated by the county health department to all students and school staff, along with sheets for them to record the number of steps taken each week. To encourage participation, Erin publicized the program through school and community media, and awarded random prizes for turning in completed record sheets. She and other volunteers also hung 252 large posters of nutrition and fitness information all over the school, and arranged for taste tests and fitness demonstrations during lunch. After she had collected and analyzed her data, Erin found that 35 percent of the participants had increased their activity level, and 62 percent said they were more motivated to live a healthier lifestyle.

Jacob, an eighth-grader at Barrackville Middle School in Barrackville, makes and distributes pillows to provide comfort to sick children and elderly nursing-home residents. Jacob, a long-time 4-Her, has accompanied his older brother on many visits to cheer up kids in hospitals and senior citizens in nursing homes. "I wanted to be able to have something to give the patients when we visit them," he said. So he asked his mother to teach him to sew, and began making colorful pillows that he calls "pillow pals."

Jacob raised funds for supplies by organizing a basketball shoot-out and selling tickets at school to see his principal kiss a live pig. He then purchased materials and recruited several other 4-Hers to help sew, stuff and deliver the pillows to hospitalized children and seniors living at a community home. Jacob also has made pillows for Ronald McDonald House residents and young victims of Hurricane Katrina. "I love making other people happy," said Jacob, "and with the help of my pillows I am able to give comfort and security."

Applications for the 2006 awards program were submitted last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers affiliated with the Points of Light Foundation. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state and the District of Columbia were announced in February. These 102 State Honorees are in Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

Ten of the 102 were named America's top ten youth volunteers for 2006 at the International Trade Center today. These National Honorees received additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies for the schools or organizations that nominated them, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for charities of their choice.

The ten National Honorees are:

Evan Alicuben, 17, of Hilo, Hawaii, who spearheaded a project that placed "personal emergency dialers" in the homes of nearly 50 senior citizens in his community, to enable them to call for help quickly and easily in case of emergency.

Ellie Ambrose, 12, of Nashville, Tenn., who organized an annual carnival and a five-kilometer running race called "Ellie's Run for Africa," which together have raised more than $40,000 over the past two years for sick and disadvantaged children in Africa.

Hillary Hughes, 11, of Bedford, N.H., who started a nonprofit foundation that has collected more than $11,000 worth of personal-care products and other items to distribute to needy kids in her community, poor families in Chile, tsunami victims in Asia, and hurricane victims on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Geneva Johnson, 17, of the Bronx, N.Y., the founder and executive director of a successful youth-run organization that seeks to build pride and self-esteem among young people in the inner-city through a wide variety of service projects.

Alexander Lin, 12, of Westerly, R.I., who led a student community service group in a multifaceted project to reduce the adverse environmental impact of discarded consumer electronics - or "e-waste" - through recycling, public education and legislation.

Michelle Loke, 13, of Hartland, Wis., who conducted scientific tests to check for lead content in children's toys and jewelry, and then launched a campaign to remove lead-tainted toys from stores and ban the use of lead in these items.

Ajay Mangal, 18, of Pascagoula, Miss., who lost nearly all of his possessions when Hurricane Katrina flooded his coastal city, yet devoted himself to distributing emergency supplies to other victims immediately after the storm, and helped many families clean out their homes in the following weeks and months.

Kevin Peyton, 18, of Sac City, Iowa, who rallied residents throughout his rural county to help him make colorful wooden "barn quilts" and mount them on historic barns and other buildings, in an effort to boost the local economy by attracting more tourists.

Nicholas Schwaderer, 17, of Superior, Mont., who built and now operates a low-power FM radio station at his school that has become an important source of news and entertainment for a small, mountainous community in western Montana.

Savannah Walters, 13, of Odessa, Fla., who is waging an extensive, multi-state campaign called "Pump 'em Up" to conserve energy resources and reduce pollution by urging drivers to keep their tires property inflated and thereby burn less gasoline.

The National Honorees were chosen by a national selection committee that was co-chaired by U.S. Senators Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, and by Arthur Ryan of Prudential. Also serving on the committee were actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth; Robert Goodwin, President and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation; Amy B. Cohen, Director of Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; Donald T. Floyd Jr., President and CEO of National 4-H Council; Ken Gladish, National Executive Director of YMCA of the USA; David Vodila, President of NASSP; and two 2005 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Devin Cohen of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Lindsey Williams of St. Joseph, Mo.

NASSP President David Vodila said, "The young people honored this year with the Prudential Spirit of Community Award exemplify the best America offers to the world. Their actions bring unity and purpose to their communities and across our great nation. Through their leadership, service and compassion, these young people bring us all closer together."

In addition to the organizations above, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards are supported by the American Association of School Administrators, the National Middle School Association, the National School Boards Association, the Council of the Great City Schools, the National School Public Relations Association and many other national youth and service organizations.

More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year's honorees can be found at www.prudential.com/spirit or www.principals.org/prudential.

NASSP - celebrating 90 years of excellence in school leadership - is the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders. NASSP provides its members with the professional resources to serve as visionary leaders. NASSP promotes the intellectual growth, academic achievement, character development, leadership development, and physical well-being of youth through its programs and student leadership services. NASSP administers the National Honor Society(TM), National Junior Honor Society(TM), and National Association of Student Councils(TM).

Prudential Financial companies serve individual and institutional customers worldwide and include The Prudential Insurance Company of America, one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States. These companies offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement-related services and administration, asset management, securities brokerage, banking and trust services, real estate brokerage franchises and relocation services. For more information, visit www.prudential.com.

(Editors: full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions are available at www.prudential.com/spirit.)

(Television producers: customized b-roll footage of the West Virginia honorees receiving their awards will be transmitted via satellite on Monday, May 8, from 10:45 to 10:50 a.m. EDT on C-Band, AMC 3, Transponder 19, Downlink 4080 Mhz H, Audio 6.2/6.8. For more information, call Faith Armonaitis or Lauren Cardinale at 800-325-8677.)