FIRST ANNUAL NORTH CAROLINA EDUCATION BALL RAISES OVER $300,000 FOR COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS

Governor Mike Easley Awarded Goodys Headache Award At North Carolina Education Ball For His Efforts On And Off The Racetrack. He raises $100,000 in race car; event raises another $200,000.

(Raleigh, NC) -- Over $300,000 was raised over the weekend for Communities In Schools through the efforts of Governor Mike Easley and First Lady Mary Easley and some of the top business and civic leaders in North Carolina.

Governor Easley drove a Winston Cup race car around the track Saturday evening prior to the start of The Winston" at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina at speeds up to 161 m.p.h. raising public awareness and money for Communities In Schools of North Carolina (CISNC), a non-profit organization that helps students succeed and graduate from school. Following his efforts on the race track, the Governor traveled to the RBC Center in Raleigh for the first annual North Carolina Education Ball also to benefit the non-profit organization.

Over 700 were in attendance at the NC Education Ball as Governor Easley announced he had raised one hundred thousand dollars for Communities In Schools North Carolina. For every lap the Governor drove at a speed of at least 160 m.p.h., corporate sponsors pledged to donate money for the non-profit.

The Governor joked with the audience about his wreck last week when the race car he was driving hit a soft retaining wall at the speedway. For his efforts on and off the race track, Bill Shore, Director of U.S. Community Partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline, presented the Governor with the Goodys Headache Award which is given at each race to the NASCAR driver who has suffered the worst luck at the track. As part of the Goodys Headache Award presentation, Governor Easley was presented a Goodys Racing jacket, and the Goodys Headache Award plaque.

In addition Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, SAS, Cisco Systems, Time Warner Cable, BB&T, Bank of America, BellSouth, Duke Energy, GlaxoSmithKline, Hendrick Motor Sports, IBM, Progress Energy and Wachovia were just a just a few of the business partners lending support for the first North Carolina Education Ball to benefit CISNC.

The keynote speaker for this extraordinary evening was John Morgridge, Chairman of the Board for Cisco Systems. Governor Easley and First Lady Mary Easley hosted the evening. Mrs. Easley also serves on the Board of Directors for Communities In Schools of North Carolina.

The statewide event featured a variety of student entertainment from across North Carolina including Jennifer Ryan McFayden from Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville. She sang Wind Beneath My Wings," as a tribute to the volunteers who work through Communities In Schools North Carolina.

Communities In Schools is the nations largest stay-in-school network, serving just over one million youth in 154 communities across the United States. CIS provides the link between teachers and the community by bringing caring adults into the schools and community sites to meet childrens needs. For more information about CISNC visit www.cisnc.org.