Champagne: A quick-and-dirty buying guide

Since there are few questions more frequently asked than what my favorite Champagnes are, it's a worthwhile time to revisit some guideposts.

Champagne seems to bring out the sort of brand loyalty -- and hence fear of change -- you find only in jeans and cars. Don't take my Levis, my Acura or my Bollinger, dammit. So with that in mind, here's a quick-and-dirty guide to the labels I look for. You may not find some of your familiar names here, but at least a few of these should appear on any good wine store's shelves.

If you're wondering why some very popular names aren't here, the answer is simple: I drink enough Champagne to be a complete tightwad about it, and many (but not all) big-name houses make wines that are too simple and too sweet for the money. If you're paying the premium to drink real Champagne, it should be a complex and compelling treat.

OK, first to the negociants: I'm unabashedly a fan of the British taste in Champagne: lots of flavors of toast, pastry, nuts and Sherry, typically from exposing the wines to a bit more oxygen and using more of the aged reserve wines in the blend -- hence why, in raised-nose company, I'd call it an oxidative style. The epitome of this style is beloved Bollinger, with Pol Roger doing admirable duty too. Less extreme, and to my taste often a bit more elegant for it, is the smaller Gosset, one of Champagne's most storied houses. If you're stepping up a bit, the lavish and leesy profile of Ruinart speaks to a certain opulence. These are all somewhat big wines, meant for heartier food and certainly ample in structure to last through a meal.

Now let's dial back the nuts and Sherry a bit -- if you prefer your bubbles not to resemble a tapas bar, that is -- to a more fruit-driven, precise style. There are many Heidsiecks in the realm, all with solid quality. I waver between two -- Charles Heidsieck and Heidsieck Monopole (the first owned by spirits firm Remy Cointreau, which also owns Piper-Heidsieck, the latter by Champagne firm Vranken, which also owns the very solid Pommery label, notable for its eloquent Cuvee Louise and its single-serve Pop) -- Charles a bit more flashy, though with gorgeous expression in vintage wines like its 1995 Blanc des Millenaires, Monopole somewhat stoic but so very fresh in its blue and yellow package. Both great. Along those lines, keep an eye out for the recently reinvigorated Ayala, now owned by none other than Bollinger, especially its laser-precise Zero Dosage. Ayala gets extra points for putting disgorgement dates on the bottle, which may bust the impression of all-bottlings-created-equal, but allows those of us forking over the cash to make more reasoned buying decisions. Also notably restrained in its style is Taittinger, which has won it its share of fans over time.

For just a bit more flash (but just a bit), the nonvintage wines of Louis Roederer continue to deliver in their subtle, nuanced style with just a hint of yeasty wildness lurking. Of course the vintage wines and, ahem, Cristal follow in that somewhat timeless mold. (If only the nonvintage was disgorgement-dated.) Henriot follows a similar path, though with somewhat more focus on Chardonnay. In that style, but with a bit more overt fruit to its nonvintage bottling thanks to about one-third Pinot Meunier, is Deutz. The nonvintage can benefit from a couple years of proper aging, and vintage Deutz -- especially the Blanc de Blancs and the top-end Cuvee William Deutz -- have tremendous cellar potential. Not that you needed that for New Year's.

To me, Jacquesson falls nicely in that on-the-road-to-opulent category too, though almost as a bridge to the grower realm; the Chiquet brothers' commitment to specific vintage expressions is really a treat. And as I've noted before, the Philipponnat label finds just the right balance between lean red-fruit precision and toasty opulence that, when I encounter the Royale Reserve nowadays, makes me always think of a poor man's Krug, to say nothing of Philipponnat's extraordinarily age-worthy Clos des Goisses. There is, of course, Krug, for those with the means. And Salon takes the opulence even further without losing precision, though at nearly $300 a bottle, it had better outperform.

Now to those indispensible grower folks. There is no shortage of love for the heavy hitters of the category, Egly-Ouriet (imported straight through Berkeley) and Pierre Peters (a superstar in Terry Theise's portfolio, along with Pierre Gimmonet). Certainly I have no quibble there, though I don't get to taste either as much as I'd like. Given their relative scarcity on shelves, you may have about the same luck. If you find a bottle of Egly's Vignes de Vrigny, all from Pinot Meunier, it's a unique wine worth experiencing, showing an austere side of that usually fruity grape.

But there are so many others. Aside from Leclerc Briant, our house Champagne is usually the NV Blanc de Blancs from Franck Bonville, in magnum when we can. (Both are imported through K&L, and available locally, when in stock.) The Larmandier-Bernier label is exceptional, including its Terre de Vertus bottling, undosed and a stoic expression of terroir from that Cote des Blancs village. Two other growers imported locally (through Martine's Wines) are Diebolt-Vallois and Gonet-Medeville, both consistently excellent and worthy of cellar time (especially the Diebolt, which can be a bit subdued when young.) The same is true of Agrapart, the Avize-based Chardonnay specialist.

Gaston Chiquet (cousins of the owners of Jacquesson) is on my hot list with a bullet. Chiquet took a while to leave an impression, but repeated encounters with its vintage Special Club effort (a series of top cuvees made by a close-knit group of growers) keeps convincing me to buy more and tuck them away. The 1998 was as fresh and focused (especially for that vintage) as the 1999 is opulent and monumental. Along those lines, another name encountered in our recent recommendations, but equally notable for their consistently good Cuvee Ste Anne, is Chartogne-Taillet, like Chiquet a player in the Theise book. (Those of us fortunate enough to keep tasting the full range of the Theise-imported wines get to play favorites. The Aubry and Jean Milan are also fantastic, if less my thing. Aubry's Campanae Veteres Vites, from now-obscure other Champagne varieties like Arbanne, is always fascinating, if primarily an intellectual thrill.)

Of course, there's Vilmart, the powerful, typically oak-aged Champagnes from Rilly-la-Montagne. I was a late convert to Vilmart's style, but the rounded texture it can show when young is lost like baby fat as precision and complexity take over. I'll pretty much buy Vilmart whenever I see it, if only because of its rarity and depth. (This is how some people feel about the utterly cultish Jacques Selosse, but we don't see much Selosse in these parts.) One of Vilmart's lesser known stars is its nonvintage rosé, the Cuvee Rubis, our New Year's Eve Champagne from last year. The nonvintage Rubis brings a fruitier edge and intensity to the subtle house style, like strawberries through a fiber optic cable.

And that brings us to the smile-inducing topic of Rosé Champagne. The big discovery this year was Mandois, a small house in Pierry that takes a similar oak-minded approach as Vilmart, though with sometimes different results. Its Brut Rosé Grande Reserve is an extraordinary wine, made from a blend of white Champagne, saignée pink wine and red wine. The irresistible earth notes of Pinot come shining through. Other excellent, if lesser known names in Rosé include Louis de Sacy, and of course the utterly beloved Billecart-Salmon, though I find Billecart's pink wine too soft-edged, even though I adore the regular Brut and the vintage wines. (To ponder imponderables: Would Billecart's rosé have caught on so well if the name didn't include "Salmon"?)

OK, now I'm thirsty, so I'll stop there. Now's your turn. What names do you look for when you're in the Champagne aisle?

Clinton Global Initiative Year End Report

For Immediate Release Contact: Clinton Foundation Press Office
December 22, 2008 212.348.0360

Clinton Global Initiative Commitments to Action extend their reach in 2008, impacting millions around the world.

“We know we cannot do this alone… We have to partner with other NGOs… We have to partner with corporations… We also have to work with governments.”
Lance Armstrong, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Lance Armstrong Foundation,
speaking at the 2008 CGI Annual Meeting

“That’s the power of the Clinton Global Initiative, to change lives. You change lives, one life, one hope, at a time.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, United Kingdom, 2008 CGI Annual Meeting

The non-partisan Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) is a platform to bring together global leaders in business, government, non-profit organizations, and students to address some of the most pressing global challenges including poverty alleviation, climate change, global health, and education. Each CGI member is asked to make a Commitment to Action. Commitments vary in duration and reflect investments of time, expertise, and/or resources in the form of grants, commercial or social investments, program expenditures, and in-kind contributions. Members come together at CGI’s Annual Meeting in New York to continue the dialogue, make new commitments, and report on the progress of past commitments.
CGI is not a grant-making organization and Commitments to Action are funded and implemented directly by commitment makers. CGI staff provides advice and monitoring to ensure progress is made.
CGI’s Work to Date
President Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005. To date:
• Over 1,200 Commitments to Action valued at $46 billion have touched more than 200 million lives in 150 countries.
• As a result of CGI Commitments to Action, since 2005:
? 8 million children were able to attend school
? 34 million people gained access to treatment of neglected tropical diseases
? 40 million metric tons of CO2 emissions were cut
? 3 million entrepreneurs were empowered with access to microfinance.
• In 2008, CGI members pledged:
? Enough clean energy to power 110 million homes in India
? One billion liters of safe drinking water to those in need
? To raise $375 million to develop new vaccines and pursue medical research
? To provide healthy school lunches to 20 million children
• MyCommitment.org is an online network that offers everyone the opportunity to make a commitment. Since the launch, people from 181 countries have collectively pledged to volunteer more than 92,000 hours and donate more than 40,000 items to improve the world.

2008 CGI Accomplishments
In 2008 alone, CGI accomplished the following:
• CGI’s 2008 Annual Meeting brought together attendees including President-elect Barack Obama, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, President Hamid Karzai, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Queen Rania, Former President George H.W. Bush, Senator John McCain, Bill Gates, Bono, Wangari Maathai, Muhammad Yunus, Lance Armstrong and nearly 60 current and former heads of state.
• CGI’s Commitments to Action from the 2008 Annual Meeting are expected to impact almost 160 million people.
• The launch of Clinton Global University, which brought together more than 600 students from nearly every state and 15 countries to Tulane University in New Orleans to formulate ways to take action on campuses, in communities, and across continents. Nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action were generated at the inaugural CGI U meeting.
• This month, CGI Asia convened leaders in Hong Kong to address local, regional, and global challenges focusing on education, health, and climate change. 67 Commitments to Action valued at nearly $200 million and projected to affect 10 million lives occurred at CGI Asia.
In 2009, CGI will continue to inspire action across different audiences. The 2009 CGI University meeting will take place from February 13-15 at the University of Texas at Austin, bringing together hundreds of students, university presidents, and national youth organizations to make commitments. MyCommitment.org will continue to provide opportunities for any citizen from any country to find opportunities to take action. And finally, a very special Fifth Anniversary Meeting will take place in New York City from September 22-25.

Learn more at www.clintonfoundation.org.

Inaugural Kick Off to be Held on the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Friday, December 19, 2008

INAUGURAL KICK OFF TO BE HELD ON THE STEPS OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

INAUGURAL EVE TO FEATURE CONCERT FOR AMERICA’S CHILDREN

WASHINGTON - The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) will host a welcome event to kick off the 56th Presidential Inauguration at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18th. The PIC also plans to hold a youth concert on the evening of Monday, January 19th, at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington. Sunday’s welcome event and Monday’s concert will continue President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden’s commitment to hold an Inauguration that is open, accessible and reflects a spirit of unity for Americans of all ages.

The afternoon welcome event, to be held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the National Mall, will be free and open to the public. Dedicated to the memory of America’s 16th President, the Lincoln Memorial has been the site of many Presidential Inauguration activities in recent years.

President Clinton held a free concert on the grounds in 1993 that included performances by Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, and Bob Dylan. In 2001, President-elect Bush kicked off his inaugural festivities at the site with performances by Ricky Martin, Charlotte Church, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The PIC is also pleased to announce that a concert for America’s children will be held the night before the Inauguration, Monday, January 19th. The concert will be free, but tickets will be required. Further details of the welcome event, concert and other inaugural activities will be made available in the coming weeks.

For the latest information on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, please visit www.pic2009.org.

Festive Beverage Boasts a Bubbly History

Sunday, Dec. 07, 2008
Tom and Jo Chesworth

From the Wine Cellar

It’s the time of year again to order up several bouquets of black-and-silver balloons, let out the tuxedo, take the salwar kameez out of mothballs and air it out, and order the champagne. To be champagne, the wine must be made in the Champagne appellation of France.

The invention of sparkling wine is generally attributed to a monk — Dom Perignon. He made a systematic study of champagne and published his findings. In his homeland in the north of France, the protowine was bottled when it stopped fermenting. Although the wine was not finished, it stopped fermenting in late fall because it got too cold for the yeast, which went into hybernation.

In the spring, when it got warmer, the yeast woke up and went back to work. During the primary fermentation, the wine was in a container from which the carbon dioxide that had formed could escape. The gas could not escape from the corked bottle. Inside the bottle the pressure built up.

Sometimes the wine fermented to dryness before bottling and there was no excess pressure. Sometimes there was only slight pressure in the bottle when the yeast ate the last of the sugar. (As an example of these fizzy wines, try Cavit Lunetta Prosecco at $12 a bottle.)

But often there was considerable gas due to the fermentation. In Perignon’s time, glass bottles were not strong enough for champagne and they exploded in the cellars. Bottles were expensive and most monasteries were poor.

Perignon’s job was to find out how to prevent the secondary fermentation, thus saving the bottles so they could be reused. He decided to perfect the process of blowing up bottles so that he could avoid the procedures that destroyed them. He had, in the process, recorded the method of reliably making sparkling wine — champagne — because that’s what destroyed the bottles. Next, glassmaking got better, and bottles which could withstand the pressure became available.

The problem with the sparkling wines was that the lees (yeast carcasses) were inside the bottle and the wine looked like the water in a mud puddle. Not very appetizing. Before sparkling wine was a viable product, a way of getting the lees out of the wine while leaving the bubbles had to be devised.

A woman named Veuve Nicole Clicquot, a widow (veuve) who inherited and ran her husband’s winery, solved the problem. She developed a procedure called riddling. The bottles were placed in a rack she had designed and then were carefully turned a bit by hand each day. After a complete revolution, each bottle was tipped slightly and placed in the next slot. The process was repeated again and again until the bottles were upsidedown with the lees in the neck. This process takes weeks or months.

The next step is to freeze the lees into slush and chill the wine. The bottle is then opened and some of the gas in the wine blows the slush out of the neck. Because the wine is chilled, most of the gas remains dissolved in the wine.

The widow began marketing the first modern champagne. Her winery is still in the business and you can taste the product, Clicquot Yellow Label Brut, at $47 a bottle. G. H. Mumm Cart Classique is a less expensive champagne at $36 a bottle.

At the end of the 20th century, the gyro-pallet replaced the riddling rack and the labor cost decreased. The price of quality sparkling wine dropped. But champagne, of course, maintained its cost because of its reputation.

However, you can get comparable wine at less cost. A California-made Mumm Napa Brut Prestige costs $20, and a New York-made Korbel costs $15. A cava from Spain, Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut, costs $12. An Italian Spumante Elmo Pio Asti costs $11.

All these wines are almost identical, so if you want to serve a sparkling wine but are not interested in paying a premium for the reputation of the winery or the place where the wine was made, you can have your festive bubbly at reasonable cost.

If you find that you don’t care for the austere brut wines, you can get a sweeter, more fruity demi-sec or semisweet wine. We won’t tell anyone you’re drinking a slightly sweet wine. We like them too. Happy holidays.

Jo and Tom Chesworth are both AWS-certified wine judges and can be found in the winecellar@7ms.com.

Holiday Wine Tips From Korbel

The Easy, Economical Guide to Holiday Entertaining With Wine

SONOMA, Calif., Dec 04, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- With the holidays almost here, 'tis the season to entertain. Whether your holiday plans include a party, a casual get-together, guests dropping by or simply a toast to the New Year, wine is always in fashion. Fortunately, it's easy to have wine at the ready for every holiday eventuality and still make every dollar count by following these helpful tips.
December is the best month of the year to buy wine and Heck Estates has some tips on selecting the perfect wine for any occasion. For supermarkets and wine shops, this is when they offer their lowest prices. Because so many raise a glass of bubbly to toast the New Year, champagne often is an especially good deal. For example, Korbel Brut often can be found for less than $10 a bottle; a super price for a premium California methode champenoise champagne. Add discounts for quantity purchases and the holiday season becomes a buying opportunity hard to resist.
For a large party, choose wines with broad appeal and keep it simple by offering one white, one red and a sparkler.
-- For the casual wine drinker, two versatile choices are Kenwood
Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.
-- If your guests are wine savvy, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from
Kenwood Vineyards can be served with confidence.
-- Korbel Natural is perfect with hors d'oeuvres, while Korbel Extra Dry
pairs beautifully with dinner party desserts.

Wine can add spark to a casual holiday get-together, so take the opportunity to be adventurous with your selections.
-- Choose wines from small producers like Lake Sonoma Winery or Valley of
the Moon Winery.
-- Try something unusual like Pinot Gris or Sangiovese.
-- If bubbly is the beverage of choice, serve Korbel Blanc de Noirs, a
scrumptious sparkler with just a hint of blush color.

Be prepared as people often drop by with little or no notice during the holidays.
-- Since it's usually only one or two couples, one bottle of wine will
often suffice. A standard 750ml bottle contains six glasses. For a
simple toast, one bottle of champagne will serve six.
-- A "mini-cellar" consisting of one bottle of white, one red and a
champagne, assures you'll have the right wine to please your guests.
-- Keep the white wine and the champagne in the refrigerator and the red
wine at room temperature in a nearby kitchen cabinet.
-- Again, choose wines with broad appeal, such as Valley of the Moon
Unoaked Chardonnay, Kenwood Pinot Noir, Lake Sonoma Zinfandel and
Korbel Brut.
-- Having a bottle of Korbel California Brandy or V.S.O.P. on hand is
also a good idea; it's great for making brandy alexanders and brandy
eggnog, or to enjoy neat as a warming after-dinner drink.

For that toast to the New Year a Blanc de Noirs champagne sets a romantic mood, Brut and Natural champagnes go well with a midnight snack, and Extra Dry champagne is slightly sweet and very seductive. Whichever you choose, chill the bottle thoroughly, open it carefully by grasping the cork firmly and easing it out while slowly rotating the bottle and enjoy.
Last, but not least, please always celebrate responsibly. Happy Holidays!
SOURCE Heck Estates
http://www.korbel.com

Clinton Global Initiative Asia Meeting Results

For Immediate Release
December 3, 2008
Contact: Clinton Foundation Press Office - 212.348.0360

Former President Clinton Concludes CGI Asia Meeting and Announces Impact of Commitments
Commitments unveiled at CGI Asia have estimated value of US$185 million, to impact more than 10 million lives

Hong Kong – Former President Clinton concluded the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Asia meeting today, highlighting examples of CGI members’ Commitments to Action that will positively impact lives across the globe.

“I am truly impressed by our Clinton Global Initiative members and the new commitments announced this week that will bring real, measurable change to millions lives in Asia and across the world,” said President Clinton. “CGI Asia members have made commitments worth an estimated total value of US$185 million, to positively impact more than 10 million lives.”

Examples of the impact CGI Asia commitments will have once fully implemented include:

An estimated 715,000 children will benefit from better education opportunities.
Over 260,000 adults will learn new job skills.
Of these, nearly 26,000 are teachers and 8,000 are health care workers who will benefit from new training.
Over 250,000 girls and women will be empowered with better opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.
Nearly 24,000 hectares of forest land will be protected by empowering local residents to manage their own natural resources.
The equivalent of more than 40,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be cut.
Over 700,000 people will better learn to cope with environmental stress and natural disasters.
More than 3.5 million people will gain greater access to health services.
Half a million people will now have safe drinking water, and 400,000 children will benefit from better nutrition.

Following the successful conclusion of the first day of the CGI Asia meeting, President Clinton was joined at a Gala Dinner by the Honorable Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, internationally acclaimed actor Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, founder of the ONE Foundation, and other CGI Asia members for a special evening of music and conversation to celebrate giving and inspire Commitments to Action.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd addressed the CGI Asia meeting by video.

“We need new ideas to confront and solve the myriad of challenges which lie ahead of us this century,” said Prime Minister Rudd. “I look forward to working with all those gathered at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting to move our world forward towards a new chapter in human history.”

CGI participants focused on the three main CGI Asia topics: education, energy & climate change and public health. The program also acknowledged the current economic climate with a plenary session on coping with the financial crisis.

Established in 2005 as a project of the non-partisan William J. Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The CGI community includes: CGI University, a forum to engage college students in global citizenship; CGI Asia, the first in a series of regional CGI meetings; and, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anyone can commit to helping improve lives.
Information on the Clinton Global Initiative and all CGI member commitments can be found at www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.
Commitments announced on the concluding day of CGI Asia are attached.

The World Food Programme and a diverse group of commitment-makers came together to improve nutrition in Asia. This far-reaching ‘mega-commitment’ includes 6 different CGI commitments involving 8 countries and is valued at US$20 million dollars. It will focus on feeding more people with better food, targeting vulnerable groups in emergency and post-disaster situations and long-term food security.

Partners in this commitment include:

• The World Food Programme commits US$15 million to help 1 million vulnerable children and their parents access improved, locally fortified and processed food products in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and Timor Leste. This will have a positive direct impact on their nutrition and their future.

• Mr. Jang Dong Kun—one of South Korea's most popular and respected celebrities—is announcing for the first time a commitment to become the newest Ambassador Against Hunger for the World Food Programme. He will help build innovative and creative partnerships in South Korea and across the region.

• Dompet Dhuafa (DU-AF-A) Republika Foundation will conduct a fundraising campaign for the WFP Indonesia school feeding program to create a healthy learning environment and improve the health and nutrition of 11,000 school children and teachers.

• Over the next year, Boeing will provide almost 10,000 pregnant and lactating mothers and their children in the Philippines and Indonesia with nutritious food.

• Credit Suisse will partner with the World Food Programme to create a healthy learning environment and improve the health and nutrition situation of over 9,000 school children and 384 teachers in one of the most vulnerable school districts in Indonesia.

• Philippine actress and model KC Concepcion—the Ambassador Against Hunger in the Philippines—will expand her commitment to raise awareness and support for the World Food Programme and positively impact over 71,000 pupils from 426 schools.

Other commitments include:

The WWF is committing US$200,000 over three and a half years to provide access to finance, education, and training to excluded and marginalized women and children living in the slums and rural villages of Southern India, and identify potential NGOs who could replicate this program in Northern India.

The AWECA Foundation commits US$2.8 million over five years to provide vocational training to 2,000 out-of-school and displaced youths, and to integrate a practical training component in 250 rural, public elementary schools.

Digital Divide Data and its partners are committing US$5 million over three years to provide training, job opportunities, and access to higher education for 1,000 disadvantaged youth in South and Southeast Asia, including young people with disabilities.

The Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation, along with its partners, is committing US$420,000 over two years to work with universities in Hong Kong and mainland China to construct six "footbridges" and "green" houses in various rural villages of the Gansu and Sichuan provinces of China; in an effort to improve the livelihoods and well-being of 5,200 poor villagers.

The BAIF Development Research Foundation, along with its partners, is committing US$30,700 over two years to integrate an educational program on climate change in 10,000 rural schools in Northern India and 5,000 in Maharashtra state; reaching 500,000 children over the span of two years.

Mlup Baitong, along with its partners, is committing US$110,000 over three years to reduce the current degradation of natural resources in Cambodia by coordinating and implementing a Community Based Forestry Management (CBFM) project in Kampong Thom province.

AIDS Care China, along with its partners, is committing US$450,000 over three years to enhance access to critical health services for 3,000 people suffering from HIV/AIDS in the rural, Yunnan province of China by establishing a pilot clinic that will offer affordable medical services and help initiate new reforms in healthcare delivery.

Yale University, in partnership with the Indian Nursing Council, is committing US$1.26 million over five years to develop a post-graduate curriculum for the Indian Institute of Advanced Nursing (IIAN). This includes developing short-courses for undergraduate nursing faculty and nurses working in specialized HIV clinics, as well as one year post-graduate diploma courses focusing on the development of HIV/AIDS patient management skills.
LRBT is committing US$600,000 over five years to reduce the prevalence of blindness and impaired vision by building a hospital to enhance access to free, quality eye care to disadvantaged populations in the earthquake-struck areas of Pakistan.
KGMF commits US$390,000 over six years to improve health standards among disadvantaged rural communities in India by organizing a series of easily accessible one-day medical camps that will bring healthcare to local villages, reaching an estimated 25,000 people.

The VinaCapital Foundation and its partners commit US$312,000 over 1 year to enhance access to quality healthcare services for underserved children suffering from cardiac disease in Asia. They will train doctors throughout Asia to improve health care for poor children with heart conditions through the use of tele-conferencing.

Nsha and the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer commit US$90,000 over 5 years to fight breast cancer in Thailand. A start-up women's clothing company called "Burn Baby" will donate 5% of annual revenues for five years to the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer. Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer among Thai women, and if caught early, has a 95% cure rate.

51-Sim.org and its partners announced a commits US$1 million over 2 years to host China's first ever "Green Car Show" which will be carbon-neutral, and to hold a climate change competition to encourage environmentally-friendly behavior.

The Peter KK Lee Care for Life Foundation, Suicide Prevention Services, Tsinghua University, University of Hong Kong, Youth League of Sichuan and the All Women's Federation of Sichuan commit US$4.4 million over 3 years to help prevent suicides by adding new services that include Mental Aid Social Work teams, new hotlines, and proven suicide prevention strategies.

The Adidas Group, Right to Play and China's Ministry of Education announced their commitment to provide long-term sports-based psychological assistance to children affected by the Sichuan earthquake that left more than 20,000 physically disabled and more than 1,000 orphaned.

The Shri Ram School, Shri Ram Foundation, and Save the Children Bal Raksha Bharat commit US$300,000 over two years to launch a comprehensive disaster risk mitigation program to train teachers, children and families to better prepare for and address natural disasters. This commitment will help 7,500 children in vulnerable communities in India better respond when disasters take place.

GeoHazards International, India's National Disaster Management Authority, GeoHazards Society, ProVention Consortium, EHDD Architecture, University of New Mexico, Rutherford & Chekene Structural Engineering, Stanford University Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World, and the National Centre for Peoples' Action in Disaster Preparedness commit US$5 million over 5 years to improve the earthquake-resistance and energy efficiency of schools and health clinics in Northern India and other Asian countries.

The Lifeline Express Hong Kong Foundation, the Chinese Ministry of Health, and the International Council of Ophthalmology commit US$7 million over 1 year to reduce blindness in rural China by providing more than 100,000 people with free cataract surgery and training 6,000 doctors.

Empowering Women of Nepal commits US$300,000 over 3 years to build an Adventure Training Center for Women in Pokhara, Nepal which will provide practical skills-based training to 600 rural women in Western Nepal to enhance their access to gainful employment in the trekking industry, where women have typically been excluded.

Laureate Education, Inc. commits US$10 million over 4 years to improve the quality of teaching and learning in 12 countries by providing 1,000 teachers with scholarships to obtain advanced degrees. Over the next 15 years, scholarships provided by Laureate will positively impact more than 500,000 students around the world.

CGI & Wal-Mart Announce Student Winners

For Immediate Release October 9, 2008

Press Contact: press@clintonglobalinitiative.org

Clinton Global Initiative Announces Student and University Winners of CGI U Outstanding Commitment Award

Wal-Mart Foundation will support philanthropic projects

through forty-five student grants and two university grants

New York, NY - On September 26th, Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) and the Wal-Mart Foundation announced the winners of forty-four student grants and two university grants through the CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards. The grants, made possible by the Wal-Mart Foundation, will support innovative, high-impact commitments to improve communities and lives around the world.

"CGI U is an empowering platform that brings together students and universities to make a positive difference, whether locally or on a global scale," said Bob Harrison, CEO of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). "The Outstanding Commitment Awards funding from the Wal-Mart Foundation will expand the impact and reach of these exceptional commitments, which were made by students and universities who are working hard to improve the lives of others."

Through a grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation, winners will receive funding for their CGI U Commitments to Action: new, specific, and measurable plans to address a global challenge of the winners' choosing. The CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards are designed to support innovative, high-impact work that creates lasting and positive social change, most notably within CGI U's focus areas - energy and climate change, global health, human rights and peace, and poverty alleviation. The awards recognize students and student organizations from a wide variety of graduate schools, historically black colleges, Ivy League institutions, religious and tribal universities, and state schools.

"As a company focused on environmental sustainability at every level, the Wal-Mart Foundation is proud to partner with CGI U to reach hundreds of students and university officials who, like Wal-Mart, are committed to making a change to improve the environment for generations to come," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation. "By partnering with organizations like CGI U, we are also able to connect with pioneering experts that will, in turn, help Wal-Mart in our goal to become a more sustainable company."

In March 2008, President Clinton encouraged students and universities attending the inaugural meeting of CGI U at Tulane University in New Orleans to apply for the awards. More than 1,000 commitments have been made through CGI U since its launch in September 2007. CGI U is a youth-focused project of the Clinton Global Initiative, which was founded by President Clinton in 2005 to mobilize world leaders to take action on major global challenges.

The forty-five student award recipients include Patricia Compas from the California Polytechnic State University, whose new water treatment device will revolutionize same-day relief efforts and quell the spread of water-borne diseases, and Julie Carney from Yale University, whose Artemis Project will digitize documents and records gathered by truth commissions around the world to be made available globally online. Additionally, Mark Young of Tulane University will receive a grant for a commitment he made based on his invention, SafeSnip, a low-cost method for cutting umbilical cords in the absence of proper medical delivery services; and Tony Anderson of Morehouse College will be recognized for his pledge to deliver one million energy efficient light bulbs to low-income areas.

Two awards were granted to universities: one to support a commitment made between Providence-based Brown University and Dillard University in New Orleans, whose initial partnership was announced at the 2006 CGI Annual Meeting. Their 2008 CGI U commitment builds upon this partnership by focusing on sustainability at Dillard University, ensuring that Dillard is rebuilt in an environmentally sustainable manner, encouraging faculty, students, and staff from Brown and Dillard to collaborate in advancing energy efficiency, curriculum and research development, and community projects, incorporating recycling and transportation improvements into Dillard's new community.

The second university award was given to the College of Menominee Nation in support of its commitment to ensure that principles of sustainability are adopted at all tribal colleges in the United States. The Sustainable Development Institute at the College of Menominee Nations is developing a toolkit which will enable other tribal colleges to monitor their own sustainability performance.

Below is a full list of CGI U Outstanding Commitment Award winners.

UNIVERSITY AWARDS

Building a Sustainable Campus: Advancing the Brown-Dillard Partnership

Ruth Simmons & Marvalene Hughes (University Presidents)

This commitment will expand the Brown-Dillard partnership by providing Dillard with the academic, administrative, technical and consulting assistance to support the University's efforts to become a more environmentally sustainable campus. The commitment focuses on greening the physical infrastructure on Dillard's campus, but also includes strong research and education components. Faculty, students, and staff from Brown and Dillard will work together to advance energy efficiency, course and curriculum development, research activity, and campus and community projects in areas ranging from recycling to sustainable food and transportation improvements.

Tribal College Sustainability Indicators

Verne Fowler (College President)

This commitment will develop sustainability indicators and establish a process and guidelines for tribal colleges and universities to measure and monitor sustainability performance in a realistic, reliable, and culturally appropriate way. These indicators will be identified, bench-marked, and disseminated by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) at the college, and will integrate students into the process. All the data, frameworks, and processes identified by SDI will be collected into a toolkit that other tribal schools can use as they assess prospects for increased sustainability efforts on their respective campuses.

STUDENT AWARDS

LendforPeace.org

Sam Adelsberg of the University of Pennsylvania is connecting Palestinian micro-entrepreneurs with individual lenders across the globe through his website, LendforPeace.org. The website facilitates direct loans to Palestinians working towards a peaceful community, and aims to create a virtual, multi-cultural network to promote the growth of business amidst current conflict.

Let's Raise a Million

Tony Anderson and his colleagues from Morehouse University have committed to financing, distributing, and installing one million energy efficient, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in low-income areas. His student group, Let's Raise a Million, aims to empower an underrepresented demographic to take part in the clean energy movement.

A Locally Sustainable Food Loop for Lafayette College

Jennifer Bell of Lafayette College is leading a group of students who have committed to reducing food waste and increasing the use of organically grown local foods on their campus. They aim to develop an institutionalized composting system and create gardens which will incorporate the entire university community into the process of a sustainable food system.

Threads That Teach Public School Program

Patricia Brady's NYU organization connects university students with New York City public schools, facilitating entrepreneurial-based art classes and fundraising efforts that can offset shrinking arts education budgets. Workshops organized by the program help students design, market, and sell apparel within their communities, and guide them towards understanding the basic principles of management through hands-on business experience.

Campus INPower

Joanna Calabrese of the University of Maryland and her student group Campus INPower focus on encouraging university students to bring clean energy awareness to the administrations and the curriculums of schools around the nation. Campus INPower members facilitate student action by giving "An Inspiring Truth" presentations, developing campus toolkits, connecting an online network of INPower students, and gathering commitments from high-profile university presidents.

The Artemis Project

Julie Carney of Yale University and the Artemis Project aim to establish databases of truth commission documents for global availability through the internet. By establishing a central database of data and helping countries which lack technological capacity to digitize their documents, Carney and her colleagues have committed to creating a method to upload relevant media from a wide range of truth commissions.

Gardens for Health International

Emma Clippinger of Brown University and her organization Gardens for Health International (GHI) work to provide healthy food for people living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda, which in turn increases the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy. GHI aims to establish community agriculture throughout Rwanda, and has committed to create five additional co-ops, expanding their support to 1,500 people living with HIV/AIDS.

Water Treatment for Disaster Relief

With the help and guidance of several students and professors at California Polytechnic State University, Patricia Compas is working to develop and distribute the Polytech Waterbag, a lightweight device which can provide drinkable water within a day to people living in disaster zones around the world. This device has the potential to play a crucial role reducing refugees' exposure to deadly water-borne diseases that all-too-often arrive in the wake the disaster itself. Compas is currently collaborating with the CDC and the Red Cross with the hope of bringing these filtration systems to relief efforts by the end of 2009.

Peace in Focus

Kyle Dietrich and Kate Fedesova of Tufts University are using photojournalism to engage underprivileged youth who are affected by violence and political instability. Peace in Focus uses creative, interactive workshops to encourage grassroots peace photojournalism. As the first phase of the commitment, two pilot workshops have already been taken place in Boston and Bujumbura, Burundi during the summer of 2008.

Mali Signs Project

Lizzy Dupont of the University of Texas is working through the UT Rural Enhancement through Education and Design program to connect schools for the deaf with university institutions and resources, and provides educational health materials online based on community needs. Dupont's initiative, the Mali Signs project, has committed to creating a three-way partnership between two Texas schools and the University of Texas ASL department, and is currently researching ways to expand their operations into West Africa.

Banaa.org

Through his website, Banaa.org, Evan Faber of the George Washington University provides talented Sudanese youth who have lived through atrocity with undergraduate scholarship opportunities in the United States. Faber has made a commitment to help Sudanese scholars further their education in public health and political sciences, in order to eventually improve Sudan's communities through peace in the future.

Climate Change and Indoor Air Pollution Abatement in the Himalayas through Novel Solar Technology

Frank Scot of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and fellow students are aiming to develop a solar cooker and heater which could be distributed in the remote Himalayan regions of China. Scot's group is hoping to teach communities to construct, use, and repair these devices, while increasing their availability across the region. These solar cookers and heaters will reduce indoor air pollution, reduce rural fuel combustion and its effects on climate change, and diminish the time spent by women on gathering fuel, freeing them to cultivate their educations and incomes.

World Faith Emergency Rest Centers

Frank Fredericks of New York University has committed to mobilizing a team of religiously-diverse youth to train members of houses of worship for emergency situations. The team will work with other disaster management centers and local governments in order to enable houses of varied faiths to satisfy the needs of a crisis. Fredericks has made a commitment to expand the World Faith work internationally.

Community Reintegration Program

John E. Goetz of the University of Alabama and his group are working to establish a community re-entry program for ex-offenders within Tuscaloosa County area. Their goal is to successfully reintegrate this population into the business community with faith-based mentoring programs, employer networking, and relationships with Alabama social service providers that could assist with résumé-building and interview skills.

Implementing Holistic Responses to Health Problems in Pemón, Venezuela

Yongjun Heo of Swarthmore College has made a commitment to send students to an understaffed medical clinic in Venezuela every summer. As a result, this work will have a major impact on addressing the crises of pollution, malnutrition, and malaria for over 3,000 Pemón people. Heo will also lead students to create and expand a waste management program, to reduce the incidence of bacterial infections, improve crop yields, and use low-cost incentives to promote community involvement in recycling and the reduction of pollution.

Multifunction Energy Platform (MFP) Pilot in Uganda

Janelle Heslop and Columbia University's Engineers Without Borders chapter have committed to implement a Multifunction Energy Platform in Uganda, which will use jatropha oil as a sustainable fuel source. The program will work with a Ugandan NGO to install one MFP on a farming cooperative, and will further gauge the viability of using MFPs and jatropha oil in eastern Africa.

Improving Health Literacy Through Health Information Resources Books

Maria Kambouris of Charles Darwin University has committed to producing a resource book which will provide basic health information to young people in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Personal Health Resource Book will indicate positive health strategies, and through a two year pilot period, will test the ability of the program to increase health literacy throughout the region.

Loyola Microfinance Initiative

Aaron Kirsh of Loyola University New Orleans is working with his group to provide capital to under-financed entrepreneurs in the New Orleans region who are attempting to rebuild the post-Katrina economy through grassroots micro-enterprise. The students at Loyola have committed to collaborating with other student-managed microfinance organizations, to create a national network of loans which will alleviate poverty by facilitating small business.

Designing Peace

Arianna Kouri and fellow University of Florida architecture students have committed to designing and constructing a recreational space for young members of the New Hope Ministries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They plan to construct the building adjacent to the current New Hope facility, with the help of the founder of the Ministries, Edson Souza.

Global Peace Exchange, Free IT Center for Rwandan Orphans

Maria Kuecken of Florida State University and the Global Peace Exchange have committed to funding the creation of a self-sustaining IT center in Gitarama, Rwanda. The IT center will provide free primary and technical education to the boys of the Umuryango Children's Network and the surrounding communities. It will also support itself economically by functioning as an internet café in off-hours.

Improving Health and Well-Being Through language Access in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Victoria Lattone of the Tulane University School of Social Work and her colleagues at Tulane have made a commitment to establish interpretation services which will connect low-income, Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations in Post-Katrina New Orleans with healthcare and social services. Latton's group is devoted to helping the growing Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese speaking LEP demographics to find necessary care in the recovering city.

Innovative Healthcare Financing in Sikoroni, Mali

Rachel Levenson of Brown University and the Mali Health organizing Project (MHOP) have made a commitment to exploring the potential for a community-based health financing program (CBHF) in Sikoroni, Mali. The Brown University students will create locally-specific models designed for each Malian community, and will investigate whether the CBHF scheme will actually increase access to healthcare for low income citizens.

Diagnostic Lab in a Backpack

Di Ling of Rice University and her peers have committed to prepare a medical diagnostic backpack for nomadic doctors working with the Pediatric AIDS corps in Tanzania, Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi. The group will provide specialized items to suit the needs of the different regions.

Ensuring the Sustainability of Donated Medical Technology

Mambidzeni Madzivire of the Mayo Graduate School is committed to examining ways in which her peers at Mayo can assist in providing medical technology through the donation and rehabilitation of used medical equipment to communities that need it the most. Those involved with this commitment will identify the needs of health care facilities, build a database of students and staff who have expertise in global health, and train engineers and technicians in developing countries to repair donated medical equipment.

Creating Waste Management Solutions in the Slums of Mali

Waste build-up is the cause of innumerable public health issues in Malian slums. Caroline Mailloux of Brown University and her peers will collaborate with Malian leaders and the Mali Health Organizing Project to implement a waste management system in Sikoroni, Mali, which will extend higher levels of waste management to three times as many community members by the end of 2008.

Giving Hope through Universal Education

Kroo Bay is a slum located near Freetown, Sierra Leone which holds over 2,000 children. Joseph Martin of the University of Texas and the Kroo Bay Initiative have made a commitment to ensure that these children receive renovated solar-powered educational facilities with a computer literacy program. Additionally, they plan to secure funding which will decrease instruction fees and supplement the salaries of local under-funded teachers with merit-based pay.

Improving Lifestyle Health

Rachel McCandless of the University of North Florida is one of the many students who have committed themselves to reducing health disparities in urban populations by highlighting the benefits of physical activity and proper diet. Students at the university will set up community gardens, provide classes on culinary arts, and train mentors on how to forge a sustainable, socially responsible community.

Design and Implement Teen Fatherhood Program

A teen father himself, Rajen Mehta of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor aims to develop a program which will teach other teen fathers to become actively engaged in their families. The program will help young fathers understand their paternal responsibility, and demonstrate the principles of basic care and parenting.

A's & Aces

Tulane University student Anna Monhartova's program A's & Aces works to provide academic assistance, life skill education, and tennis lessons to New Orleans public school children. The program brings together the greater New Orleans community with Tulane University and local businesses to help children gain access to quality athletic and academic programs.

Bicycles Against Poverty

Through fundraising efforts at Bucknell University, Dick Muyambi was able to commit to create the project Bicycles Against Poverty, which will provide at least 100 bicycles to low-income families in the district of Gulu, Uganda. Each bicycle will be shared among a group of five individuals who will maintain the bicycle and contribute 1000 shillings (50 cents) every month to go towards expansion of the program.

VVOCF: Psychosocial Support for Children and Youth Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

Through collaborative efforts of Michigan State University and the community of Zonkizizwe, Guateng (South Africa), Ramya Naraharisetti and her peers have committed to maintaining a children's center which will provide physical and psychosocial support to orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. During the upcoming year, these commitment-makers will focus on increasing attendance to programs and increasing the availability of testing for children in the community.

Use of Mobile Phone Technology to Create Better Disease Surveillance System

Mayuri Panditrao of the University of California at Berkeley has committed to developing a method of reporting cases of vector borne diseases in India through mobile phones. The use of mobile phones to submit data will increase the accuracy of geographical studies of disease, and will expedite responses to outbreaks while enabling efficient allocation of resources to potential epidemic areas.

Addressing Pesticide Exposure in Paraguayan Farming Communities

Alison Quady of Tufts University will work with Alter Vida, a local Paraguayan NGO, to implement pesticide monitoring workshops for Paraguayans living near genetically modified soy plantations. Quady will implement her monitoring program in five communities, in addition to teaching individuals to test for water contamination and studying the prevalence of disease in individuals in exposed versus unexposed communities.

Using Solar-Energy to Power Telemedicine Services in Rural Sindh, Pakistan

Ambreen Rahman of Columbia University has committed to providing solar-powered telemedicine terminals to regions with scarce access to reliable electricity in Sindhi, Pakistan. These terminals will allow doctors in major cities to communicate with patients and caregivers in rural areas, and the solar power will allow these terminals to be consistently available.

ESL Initiative

Shelley Ramsey of Trinity University in San Antonio and the Trinity ESL Initiative have committed to providing the janitorial and dining staff of the University with free English lessons from student tutors. Tutors will benefit from the practice of speaking Spanish with employees who serve them during the semester, while the project will be a serve as a small step towards educational equality within the greater San Antonio community.

New Orleans Project

Lafayette College student Katherine Reeves, a member of the Economic Empowerment and Global Learning Project Team (EEGLP) at Lafayette, has committed to partnering with residents in the Lower 9th Ward (L9W) of New Orleans. The EEGLP will help to develop the community in a way which is environmentally conscious and economically just.

Gage Based Flood Relief in the Dominican Republic

Hilary Robinson of Rice University has committed to organizing the implementation of a flood alert system in the community of Bonao in the Dominican Republic. In a region highly susceptible to flash floods, the system will utilize a network of rain gauges to provide input to a hydrologic model and alert system which will be able to warn residents of future floods by cell phone messages.

An Easily Replicable Recreational Therapy and Anti-Obesity Program for Autistic Young People

Noah Rosenberg of the University of Massachusetts Medical School has committed to create a program of recreational therapy and anti-obesity training for children ages 6-12 with autism in Worcester, MA. The after school program will stress collaborative development within the group, which will both cultivate social skills and promote physical health and fitness.

It Is Only Through Attempting the Absurd...

Philip Schapker of Tulane University and his Juggling Club has committed to using startup capital to create a community garden and bicycle shop where free lessons will be provided on bicycle mechanics and gardening. The garden and shop will eventually support itself through revenues from vegetable and bicycle sales.

Building a School for Burmese Refugees on Thai/Burma Border

Jordan Spatz of the University of California Los Angeles, working with the Engineers Without Borders chapters at UCLA and MIT, has committed to building a new, three room school building for the Burnese/Thai refugee children of No Lao, Thailand in December 2008. Spatz and his colleagues plan on building the school in response to a request from His majesty, The King of Thailand's Royal Foundation, and the group will also conduct a health assessment of the villages surrounding the school.

Housing Opportunities Program: Preventing Homelessness through Micro Loans

Lekha Tummalapalli of Harvard University and the Housing Opportunities Program (HOP) have committed to providing 100 no-interest loans of $500-$1000 to clients in danger of eviction from homes. These loans can ultimately help to sustain the long-term stability of those in danger of homelessness.

Recycle to Eradicate Poverty

The One Million Cell Phone Challenge invites participants to recycle one million cell phones, saving 350 trillion gallons of water and allowing 100,000 women to rise from poverty through microfinance. Brian Weinberg of the University of North Texas and the Recycle to Eradicate Poverty program at UNT have committed to beat this challenge, and to use the resulting funds from recycling donated phones to directly provide loans to the poor.

Brown-Providence Microfinance Collaborative

Mollie West of Brown University and the Brown-Providence Microfinance Collaborative have committed to connecting students with community organizations to help provide loans to low income people. In addition to providing small loans of less than $5,000 to individuals without the collateral or legal status to utilize the formal banking system, the collaborative will also establish a program to teach business skills to that population.

SafeSnip

Mark Young of Tulane University and his group of undergraduate students have committed to produce and distribute a device called SafeSnip, which provides a low-cost method to clamp, cut, and disinfect the umbilical cord, in a method that significantly decreases the risk of infection. SafeSnip will ensure healthier births in regions of the developing world that suffer from the absence of viable healthcare infrastructure.
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About Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U)
CGI U, a new project of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), challenges college students and universities to address global problems with practical, innovative solutions. At CGI U, young people and universities do more than simply discuss the world's challenges - they take real, concrete steps towards solving them.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
CGI is a project of the non-partisan Clinton Foundation that brings together a community of global leaders to identify and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI's Annual Meetings have brought together more than 100 current and former heads of state, hundreds of leading global CEOs, heads of foundations and major philanthropists, directors of the most effective non-governmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made nearly 1,200 commitments valued at $46 billion to address poverty alleviation, climate change, global health, education and other issues. These commitments have already impacted more than 200 million lives in 150 countries. Commitments made at the 2008 Annual Meeting are expected to impact almost 160 million people.

About Philanthropy at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and the Wal-Mart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. Through its philanthropic programs and partnerships, the Wal-Mart Foundation supports initiatives focused on enhancing opportunities in education, job skills training, sustainability and health. In 2007, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and the Wal-Mart Foundation gave $296 million to communities across the United States. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.

SKYY Spirits News

SKYY SPIRITS TAPS CEO FOR TOP COMPANY POSITION,
APPOINTS NEW CHIEF OPERATING/CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Gerry Ruvo Assumes Role of Chairman and CEO;
Procter and Gamble Veteran Joins Company

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 18, 2008) – Skyy Spirits LLC., the definitive marketer and distributor of super-premium and luxury spirits brands in North America, announces the promotion of Gerry Ruvo to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Ruvo was formerly President and CEO. In addition to this appointment, the company has also created a new position of Chief Operating Officer/Chief Marketing Officer to be filled by Andrea Conzonato, who was most recently Group Marketing Director for Skyy Spirits’ parent company, Gruppo Campari in Milan.

Ruvo’s career in the beverage alcohol industry spans more than three decades including ten years at Skyy Spirits, where he assumed the role of President and CEO in 2005. Ruvo has led the San Francisco-based company to the position of tenth largest sprits firm in the United States. The Skyy Spirits portfolio has grown exponentially since the company’s founding in 1992 and now includes 24 vodka, tequila, rum, aperitif, liqueur and whisk(e)y brands.

As the company’s first Chief Operating/Chief Marketing Officer, Andrea Conzonato will oversee sales, marketing and company operations, reporting directly to Ruvo. Tapped for his wealth of experience in the consumer packaged goods industry, Conzonato’s career includes positions in marketing, product development, supply chain, finance and sales. Prior to his role as Gruppo Campari’s Group Marketing Director, he held positions with Procter and Gamble, where he worked for 13 years in the US and abroad on a variety of high-profile international brands, such as Ivory Soap, Old Spice, Oral-B, Pantene, Max Factor and Noxzema. In his most recent role at Procter and Gamble he headed up the Health and Beauty division in Italy.

“With Gerry's promotion to Chairman and CEO and Andrea's appointment to COO/CMO, we look forward to the continued strong growth of our US business," said Gruppo Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz.

This year has already been a pivotal one for Skyy Spirits. Since January 1, 2008, the company has launched a number of important new brands and marketing initiatives. Examples include:
• The launch of SKYY Infusions™, a 100% all-natural infused experience made with premium SKYY Vodka and succulent real fruit. A companion mobile marketing tour and 360 degree promotional activity accompanied this launch.
• A comprehensive marketing deal with New Line Cinema to serve as the official spirits sponsor and promotional partner for the blockbuster film Sex and the City.
• The redesign of the iconic SKYY Vodka bottle to a sleeker, more contemporary shape.

Gruppo Campari Launches Web Site

GRUPPO CAMPARI AMERICAN SUBSIDIARY SKYY SPIRITS LAUNCHES WEBSITE AT WWW.SKYYSPIRITS.COM

New Skyy Spirits Online Home is Resource for Trade, Mixologists and Press

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 30, 2008) – Skyy Spirits LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gruppo Campari and the definitive marketer and distributor of super-premium and luxury spirits brands in North America, announces the launch of its new corporate website at www.skyyspirits.com. The new site is a comprehensive company resource for spirits industry representatives, business partners, mixologists and press, and serves as a one-stop portal to Skyy Spirits’ diverse brand portfolio.

Visitors to the site are greeted by a graphic illustration of a stylish Skyy Spirits bar. By clicking on each bottle on the bar, web surfers will find detailed information on the brands the company represents in the US, as well as a link directly to each brands’ homepage. The site’s other features include:
• Background and history of the company, executive bios
• Latest news and press release archive
• Contact details for sales, advertising, sponsorship, human resources and public relations departments
• Links to information on Skyy Spirits’ parent company Gruppo Campari

“It’s important to us that Skyy Spirits is easily accessible to anyone who wants to find out a little bit more about our company and how we go to market in the United States,” said Skyy Spirits Chairman and CEO Gerry Ruvo. “Our new virtual home puts a raft of corporate and brand information at the fingertips of those interested in forging a relationship with Skyy Spirits or any one of the 20 brands we represent in this market.”

Founded in 1992 and based in San Francisco, the Skyy Spirits, LLC portfolio has grown from a single iconic vodka to a portfolio that includes vodkas, tequilas, rums, aperitifs, liqueurs and an extensive portfolio of whiskies. The website was designed by Lambesis of San Diego, California.

About Lambesis
Lambesis is a global branding agency with an unrivaled record of success in establishing some of the most recognizable brands of the last two decades. In the changing world of consumer communication, Lambesis continues to create iconic brand identities that break down the boundaries of conventional advertising through a deeper emotional and cultural connection with the consumer. Lambesis is based in San Diego, California. www.Lambesis.com

About Skyy Spirits, LLC
Skyy Spirits, LLC is the US-based wholly owned subsidiary of Gruppo Campari (Milan: CPR.MI) and the definitive marketer and distributor of super-premium and luxury spirits brands in North America. Launched in 1992 with the introduction of its flagship brand, SKYY® Vodka, Skyy Spirits has grown exponentially, building a portfolio unrivaled in its quality, innovation and style, making it a top choice among distributors, retailers and consumers. Skyy Spirits manages Gruppo Campari’s portfolio in the US of such leading brands as SKYY® Vodka, SKYY90®, SKYY InfusionsTM, Campari®, Cabo Wabo® Tequila, Ouzo 12®, X-Rated® Fusion Liqueur® and Jean-Marc XO Vodka®. Skyy Spirits is also the exclusive US distributor of Cutty Sark® Scotch Whisky, The Glenrothes® Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Bowmore® Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Auchentoshan® Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Glen Garioch® Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Flor de Caña® Rum, Carolans Irish Cream®, Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey®, Irish Mist® Liqueur, Midori® Melon Liqueur, ZEN Green Tea Liqueur TM and The Yamazaki® Single Malt Whisky.

Skyy Spirits was founded and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. More information on the company can be found at www.skyyspirits.com and www.camparigroup.com. Please enjoy Gruppo Campari brands responsibly and in moderation.

# # #

Contact:
Sarah Jones Dave Karraker
Benson Marketing Group Skyy Spirits
707-254-1114 415-315-8000
Jones@bensonmarketing.com Dave.karraker@skyy.com

CGI Sponsors

Former President Clinton Announces Sponsors for 2008 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.

Tom Golisano renews his support as major underwriter of fourth CGI Annual Meeting in New York City

New York, September 23, 2008 Former President Bill Clinton today announced sponsors for the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, which will be held from September 23-26 in New York City.

Tom Golisano is the major underwriter of the CGI Annual Meeting for the fourth consecutive year. Victor Pinchuk is the convening partner of CGI International, a series of regional meetings which will commence with CGI Asia in Hong Kong in December. Vinod Sekhar is the CGI Asia meeting underwriter.

Our sponsors are crucial to the Clinton Global Initiatives mission of bringing together the most effective, knowledgeable leaders to take action on the pressing challenges that face our generation, President Clinton said. Thanks to the support of our sponsors, CGI is able to convene members who have made nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries around the world.

Annual Meeting Sponsors

As a non-profit organization, CGI depends upon sponsorship assistance to fund its operations and Annual Meeting. CGI thanks the following sponsors: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Citi, the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund, Green Rubber, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Cisco, the Sultanate of Oman, Calyon, CLSA, CNBC, Deutsche Bank, Duke Energy, The Economist, Energy Developments and Investments Corporation, GSD&Ms Idea City, the Howard Gilman Foundation, HP, Knoll, Microsoft, the Rockefeller Foundation, Suzlon, Swiss Re, and Thomson Reuters.

Media Partners

For the 2008 Annual Meeting, CNBC is the official broadcast media partner and The Economist is the official print media partner. CNBC will tape for broadcast the second annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards ceremony hosted by Maria Bartiromo, during which President Clinton will recognize five citizens who have displayed extraordinary leadership and effectiveness in making positive, lasting global change.

Track Sponsors

Track sponsors are strategic partners for each of CGIs four focus areas: education, energy & climate change, global health, and poverty alleviation. Below are this years track sponsors:

Poverty alleviation: Citi
Global health: Procter & Gamble (P&G)
Climate change and energy: Green Rubber
Education: The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund

Environment

The Clinton Global Initiative takes extra steps to ensure that eco-friendly standards are integrated into every facet of the Annual Meeting. CGI is able to conduct a carbon neutral Annual Meeting through a commitment by Swiss Re to offset emissions generated by CGI operations. Swiss Re is the first major financial services company to introduce a voluntary initiative to become greenhouse gas neutral.
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About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

Established in 2005 as a project of the non-partisan William J. Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the worlds most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI members have made nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries around the world. Through past Annual Meetings, CGI has brought together more than 80 current and former heads of state, hundreds of top CEOs and non-profit leaders, major philanthropists, and 10 of the last 16 Nobel Peace Laureates.

The CGI community also includes: CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship; CGI Asia, the first in a series of regional CGI meetings; and, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make their own Commitment to Action.
www.clintonglobalinitiative.org or contact press@clintonglobalinitiative.org

President Clinton Impact Announcement

FORMER PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES GLOBAL IMPACT OF CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE AT CONCLUSION OF ANNUAL MEETING

250 new commitments unveiled, valued at $8 billion to improve 158 million lives

New York, NY - This afternoon, former President Bill Clinton delivered the closing remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative's fourth Annual Meeting, highlighting new statistics on the widespread impact CGI's Commitments to Action will make worldwide.


"Each year, I am more impressed by our members' dedication to take action, think innovatively, and form partnerships to address the most critical global problems," said President Clinton. "CGI members have made nearly 1200 commitments to action valued at $46 billion that have already improved more than 200 million lives in 150 countries. New commitments unveiled this week will impact more than 158 million lives."

Examples of the potential impact some of this year's commitments will make once implemented include:

· 25 million children will have access to new or improved school feeding programs.

· 16 million children will participate in deworming programs.

· The emission of 44 million metric tons of CO2 will be avoided.

· Enough clean energy will be created to power the equivalent of 7 million homes in the United States.

· 75 million people will have first-time access to health care or access to improved health care.

· $375 million will be raised to develop new vaccines and conduct medical research.

· Over 1 billion liters of safe drinking water will be distributed.

· 50 million people will have access to mobile financial services.

· More than $400 million will be raised for investment and credit for small and medium sized enterprises in the developing world.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined President Clinton in addressing CGI members at the meeting's closing session. Brown's remarks included a call to action for the private sector to commit to addressing pressing world issues. In 2007, Prime Minister Brown made a "call to action" to governments, businesses, NGOs and faith-based groups to focus resources and effort on delivering the Millennium Goals by 2015. CGI is a founding member of Call to Action.

President Clinton also provided details about the continued growth of the Clinton Global Initiative, including its first meeting overseas at CGI Asia in Hong Kong this December and the second meeting of CGI U this February at the University of Texas at Austin.

This year President Clinton was joined by over 1,000 leaders from business, government, and non-governmental organizations who traveled to New York from six continents, including nearly 60 current and former heads of state and five Nobel Peace Prize winners. Visitors from 135 countries and territories have pledged over $6 million and 7,600 volunteer hours on MyCommitment.org.

All commitments and progress reports unveiled this week are available at www.clintonglobalinitative.org

Some of the commitments and progress reports announced today are attached.

The Global Network for Neglected and Tropical Disease Control presented a progress report on their commitments from 2006 and 2007. To date nearly 150 million of the world's poorest people received low cost Neglected and Tropical Disease (NTD) drugs. They are now working to eliminate the devastation tool of NTDs in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa during the next 7 years to meet Millennium development Goals.

A number of CGI Members heeded a call to action to help the victims of Haiti's recent natural disasters. Together they will help Haiti "build back better." The total value of these commitments is at least $130 million and they will do the following:

· Give 20,000 families food each month

· Supply 36,000 farmers with seeds, fertilizer, and training

· Provide 5 million liters of clean water

· Rebulid thousands of homes

· Improve education for more than 600,000 students

· Rebuild 2 bridges that were destroyed

· Provide Haitians with 100,000 pairs of shoes

· Rebuild 12 schools

United Nations Foundation, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, National Basketball Association, Women's National Basketball Association, and the Union for Reform Judaism committed $2 million over 4 years to engage a global audience of 25 million people through their Nothing But Nets program and work with partners to deliver bednets to a newly targeted refugee population.

American University in Dubai committed $26 million over 4 years to create scholarships for students from the Middle East to attend the Mohammed bin Rashid School for Communication.

Microsoft committed $50 million to expand the focus on teachers and work in the Innovative Teachers Program. Currently in 75 countries, over the next 5 years, Microsoft will expand their efforts in their teachers program to over 100 countries, allowing teachers to work together and help each other.

LeapFrog Investment with partners Ashoka, Quindiem, Microinsurance Center, Akin Gump, Wiley Rein, Attridge-Stirling Woloniecki, and consultants from around the world committed $100 million over 10 years to launch the world's largest microinsurance initiative that will enable 25 million low-income people to access affordable, quality insurance and financial services, 15 million of whom will be women and children.

The Wal-Mart Foundation committed to funding innovative, high-impact commitments that creates lasting and positive social change within CGI U's four main focus areas - energy & climate change, global health, human rights & peace, and poverty alleviation. Since the inaugural meeting in March, fourty-four students and two universities were awarded grants to fund projects which will benefit people and communities around the world.

Victor Pinchuk and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation announced the launch of the WorldWideStudies program to provide 500 Masters fellowships for Ukrainians to study abroad.

The Mother Child Education Foundation will develop and provide early education, parenting and female literacy programs throughout Turkey. 80,000 mothers, 80,000 children, 26,000 illiterate women, and 14,000 fathers will be direct beneficiaries of programs and over 200,000 more will be secondary beneficiaries.

The UN Foundation and partners will engage a global audience of 25 million people through their Nothing but Nets program and work with partners to deliver 2 million refugees with bednets to protect against Malaria.

Goldman Sachs committed to provide 300 Liberian women with a business education. This is part of their 10,000 Women commitment. They will also provide an additional 100 African women with a business education. With partners Vital Voices, Inter-America Development Bank, the World Bank Group, Exxon Mobil and the Club of Madrid, Goldman Sachs will develop a gender and diversity fund, convene a regional summit for emerging women leaders, and launch a training program to strengthen women's political leadership.

Wal-Mart Commended for Plastic Bag Recycling

News Release September 25, 2008
Contact: Jennifer Killinger (703) 741-5833
Email: jennifer_killinger@americanchemistry.com

wal-mart initiative
Program Will Strengthen Wal-Mart’s Success in Recycling Plastic Bags and Wraps

ARLINGTON, VA (September 25, 2008) – Today the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council, a trade association representing the nation’s leading plastic bag manufacturers, recyclers and resin producers, applauded Wal-Mart for its efforts to develop a responsible plastic bag policy. Under this plan, which promotes the more efficient use of plastic bags in Wal-Mart stores, the company will strengthen its existing efforts to recycle – an action that is expected bolster Wal-Mart’s position as a world leader in the recycling of plastic bags and wraps.

“It is clear that strong, lightweight plastics are playing a key role in helping Wal-Mart to reach its sustainability goals. Everyday, lighter more efficient plastic products and packages mean a reduction in energy use, costs and emissions for the world’s largest retailer,” said Shari Jackson, director of the Progressive Bag Affiliates.

“Wal-Mart clearly understands that plastic bags are a better environmental choice than alternatives but is taking steps to reduce waste and increase recycling. Bans are not the answer,” said Jackson. “In fact, Wal-Mart’s steps toward implementing this goal are very consistent with our own efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic bags. Plastic bags are too valuable to waste. They should be reused and recycled.”

For example:

1. Reduce – Plastic bags today weigh about one-tenth the amount of paper bags. In addition, to using less material, plastic bags produce less than half the greenhouse gas emissions (a lower carbon footprint), require 70 percent less energy to manufacture, and generate 80 percent less waste than paper alternatives. Proper bagging can help reduce waste even further, and PBA members have introduced programs to help grocers and retailers adopt efficient bagging practices focused on maximizing the number of items per bag.

2. Reuse – Plastic bags are arguably one of the most reused products in our society. Over 90 percent of families reuse plastic bags around their homes for a wide range of purposes, such as bringing lunches to work, lining garbage bins, disposing of diapers and picking up after pets. The high percentage of reuse enables shoppers to avoid the added environmental impacts associated with using a new bag. PBA works to educate shoppers about creative ways to reuse and recycle their plastic bags.

3. Recycle – Plastic bags are fully recyclable. Nationwide 812 million pounds of plastic bags and film were recycled in 2006, up 24 percent from 2005. Wal-Mart reportedly recycles about 120 million pounds per year. These valuable materials are used to make durable backyard decking products and new plastic bags.

“The plastic bag industry is a leader in innovation and recycling, and we welcome opportunities to work with companies and policymakers to develop responsible plastic bag practices,” said Jackson. “We hope to work with Wal-Mart and other companies to increase the use of recycled content in plastic carryout bags.”

Importantly, the overwhelming trend nationally has been to implement plastic bag recycling programs. In 2007, California mandated in-store recycling programs, and similar measures passed this year in New York State, Rhode Island, Chicago, New York City and several New York counties. By contrast, San Francisco remains the only large jurisdiction in the United States to ban plastic bags.

About the Progressive Bag Affiliates
The Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council promote the responsible use and recycling of plastic bags. The PBA recycling toolkit is being used by retailers around the nation as a reference for determining the best ways to deploy effective recycling solutions in stores. Consumers, businesses and recyclers can find a wealth of information on plastic bag recycling at www.plasticbagrecycling.org.
# # #

www.americanchemistry.com/newsroom

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products and services that make people's lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health and safety performance through Responsible Care®, common sense advocacy designed to address major public policy issues, and health and environmental research and product testing. The business of chemistry is a $664 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation's economy. It is one of the nation’s largest exporters, accounting for ten cents out of every dollar in U.S. exports. Chemistry companies are among the largest investors in research and development. Safety and security have always been primary concerns of ACC members, and they have intensified their efforts, working closely with government agencies to improve security and to defend against any threat to the nation’s critical infrastructure.

CGI Sponsors Announced

Tom Golisano renews his support as major underwriter of fourth CGI Annual Meeting in New York City

New York, September 23, 2008 Former President Bill Clinton today announced sponsors for the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, which will be held from September 23-26 in New York City.

Tom Golisano is the major underwriter of the CGI Annual Meeting for the fourth consecutive year. Victor Pinchuk is the convening partner of CGI International, a series of regional meetings which will commence with CGI Asia in Hong Kong in December. Vinod Sekhar is the CGI Asia meeting underwriter.

Our sponsors are crucial to the Clinton Global Initiatives mission of bringing together the most effective, knowledgeable leaders to take action on the pressing challenges that face our generation, President Clinton said. Thanks to the support of our sponsors, CGI is able to convene members who have made nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries around the world.

Annual Meeting Sponsors

As a non-profit organization, CGI depends upon sponsorship assistance to fund its operations and Annual Meeting. CGI thanks the following sponsors: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Citi, the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund, Green Rubber, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Cisco, the Sultanate of Oman, Calyon, CLSA, CNBC, Deutsche Bank, Duke Energy, The Economist, Energy Developments and Investments Corporation, GSD&Ms Idea City, the Howard Gilman Foundation, HP, Knoll, Microsoft, the Rockefeller Foundation, Suzlon, Swiss Re, and Thomson Reuters.

Media Partners

For the 2008 Annual Meeting, CNBC is the official broadcast media partner and The Economist is the official print media partner. CNBC will tape for broadcast the second annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards ceremony hosted by Maria Bartiromo, during which President Clinton will recognize five citizens who have displayed extraordinary leadership and effectiveness in making positive, lasting global change.

Track Sponsors

Track sponsors are strategic partners for each of CGIs four focus areas: education, energy & climate change, global health, and poverty alleviation. Below are this years track sponsors:


Poverty alleviation: Citi
Global health: Procter & Gamble (P&G)
Climate change and energy: Green Rubber
Education: The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund


Environment

The Clinton Global Initiative takes extra steps to ensure that eco-friendly standards are integrated into every facet of the Annual Meeting. CGI is able to conduct a carbon neutral Annual Meeting through a commitment by Swiss Re to offset emissions generated by CGI operations. Swiss Re is the first major financial services company to introduce a voluntary initiative to become greenhouse gas neutral.


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About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

Established in 2005 as a project of the non-partisan William J. Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the worlds most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI members have made nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries around the world. Through past Annual Meetings, CGI has brought together more than 80 current and former heads of state, hundreds of top CEOs and non-profit leaders, major philanthropists, and 10 of the last 16 Nobel Peace Laureates.

The CGI community also includes: CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship; CGI Asia, the first in a series of regional CGI meetings; and, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make their own Commitment to Action.
www.clintonglobalinitiative.org or contact press@clintonglobalinitiative.org

Lance Armstrong CHI Committment

This morning, Lance Armstrong, founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, will join President Bill Clinton at the opening session of the Clinton Global Initiative's fourth annual meeting with a Call to Action against cancer. A cancer survivor himself, Lance is vowing to make the world's second leading cause of death an international priority. He is broadening his foundation's scope and reach to support survivors around the world. Watch the Opening Plenary via webcast to hear Lance speak.

This commitment is the first of many to be unveiled over the coming days. In three years, members have made nearly 1,000 commitments valued at $30 billion to improve the lives of 200 million people in 150 countries.

OPENING PLENARY: A Call to Action

Wednesday 9/24/08, 10:00 A.M. — 11:30 A.M.

The opening plenary session will engage a diverse group of world leaders in an action-oriented discussion of the major challenges that CGI is focusing on this year: education, energy & climate change, global health, and poverty alleviation. This session will explore the transformative capacity of business, government, and NGOs to collaboratively develop and implement sustainable solutions.

Special Remarks:
Lance Armstrong, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Lance Armstrong Foundation

Program Participants:
William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States; Founder, William J. Clinton Foundation
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Bono, Lead Singer, U2; Co-Founder, Anti-Poverty Campaign, ONE
Al Gore, Chairman, The Alliance for Climate Protection
E. Neville Isdell, Chairman of the Board of Directors, The Coca-Cola Company
Her Excellency Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President, Republic of Liberia

Clinton Global Initiative announces Sponsors

Tom Golisano renews his support as major underwriter of fourth CGI Annual Meeting in New

York CityNew York, September 23, 2008 Former President Bill Clinton today announced sponsors for the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, which will be held from September 23-26 in New York City.

Tom Golisano is the major underwriter of the CGI Annual Meeting for the fourth consecutive year. Victor Pinchuk is the convening partner of CGI International, a series of regional meetings which will commence with CGI Asia in Hong Kong in December. Vinod Sekhar is the CGI Asia meeting underwriter.

Our sponsors are crucial to the Clinton Global Initiatives mission of bringing together the most effective, knowledgeable leaders to take action on the pressing challenges that face our generation, President Clinton said. Thanks to the support of our sponsors, CGI is able to convene members who have made nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries around the world.

Annual Meeting Sponsors

As a non-profit organization, CGI depends upon sponsorship assistance to fund its operations and Annual Meeting. CGI thanks the following sponsors: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Citi, the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund, Green Rubber, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Cisco, the Sultanate of Oman, Calyon, CLSA, CNBC, Deutsche Bank, Duke Energy, The Economist, Energy Developments and Investments Corporation, GSD&Ms Idea City, the Howard Gilman Foundation, HP, Knoll, Microsoft, the Rockefeller Foundation, Suzlon, Swiss Re, and Thomson Reuters.

Media Partners

For the 2008 Annual Meeting, CNBC is the official broadcast media partner and The Economist is the official print media partner. CNBC will tape for broadcast the second annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards ceremony hosted by Maria Bartiromo, during which President Clinton will recognize five citizens who have displayed extraordinary leadership and effectiveness in making positive, lasting global change.

Track Sponsors

Track sponsors are strategic partners for each of CGIs four focus areas: education, energy & climate change, global health, and poverty alleviation. Below are this years track sponsors:

Poverty alleviation: Citi

Global health: Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Climate change and energy: Green Rubber

Education: The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Doris and Donald Fisher Fund

Environment

The Clinton Global Initiative takes extra steps to ensure that eco-friendly standards are integrated into every facet of the Annual Meeting. CGI is able to conduct a carbon neutral Annual Meeting through a commitment by Swiss Re to offset emissions generated by CGI operations. Swiss Re is the first major financial services company to introduce a voluntary initiative to become greenhouse gas neutral.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

Established in 2005 as a project of the non-partisan William J. Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the worlds most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI members have made nearly 1,000 Commitments to Action valued at upwards of $30 billion to improve more than 200 million lives in over 150 countries around the world. Through past Annual Meetings, CGI has brought together more than 80 current and former heads of state, hundreds of top CEOs and non-profit leaders, major philanthropists, and 10 of the last 16 Nobel Peace Laureates.

The CGI community also includes: CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship; CGI Asia, the first in a series of regional CGI meetings; and, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make their own Commitment to Action.

www.clintonglobalinitiative.org or contact press@clintonglobalinitiative.org