Contact:
Rica Orszag
Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Memorial Foundation Project, Inc.
202-253-8974
rorszag@mlkmemorial.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

George Foreman and Leaders of BP, Continental Airlines, and Shell Oil to Host 'Houston Dream Dinner'

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 24, 2007) – The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. announced today it will host a June 27 Houston Dream Dinner to help raise the remaining funds to build the memorial on the National Mall.  Dinner Co-Chairs include boxing legend George Foreman, Shell Oil Co. President John Hofmeister, Continental Airlines Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner, and BP America, Inc. CEO Robert A. Malone, Jeff Moseley, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, is also playing a major role in helping organize the dinner.

The dinner will take place at the Wortham Theater in Houston with a 6:30 p.m. reception followed by a 7:30 p.m. dinner and concert.  Grammy award winning gospel and R&B singer BeBe Winans is confirmed to perform.

 “I am proud that Houston businesses and residents are stepping up to the plate to help build a lasting tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. and his ideals of hope, love, democracy, and justice,” said George Foreman, a member of the Memorial Foundation’s Executive Leadership Cabinet.  “Today I call on every citizen to help us by making a donation, of any dollar amount, to the Memorial Foundation by logging on to www.buildthedream.org or by calling 888 4 THE DREAM.  We need your support today.”

The Houston dinner is part of a series of Dream Dinners which the Memorial Foundation has staged across the country, including in Los Angeles, Washington, DC and San Francisco.  On September 18, Tommy Hilfiger, Russell Simmons, Quincy Jones, Joel Horowitz, David Stern, and Edgar Bronfman, Jr. will co-chair a Radio City Music Hall 'Dream Concert' with an all-star line-up.

The Memorial Foundation has raised $79 million out of the needed $100 million to complete and maintain the memorial.  Major donors include:  General Motors, Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, NBA/WNBA, The Walt Disney Company Foundation, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Coca-Cola Foundation, The Ford Motor Fund, Toyota, AARP, AFLAC, CIGNA, DuPont, ExxonMobil Foundation, Fannie Mae Corporation, FedEx Corporation, GE, Horowitz Family Foundation, Sheila C Johnson, Lehman Brothers, George Lucas, MacFarlane Partners, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, McDonald’s Corporation, National Association of Realtors, National Education Association (NEA), PepsiCo Foundation, Prudential Financial, Inc., Shell Oil Company, State Farm Insurance, Verizon Foundation, Wal-Mart and Morehouse College, among others.

Harry E. Johnson, Sr., a Houston resident, serves as President and CEO of the Memorial Foundation.  General Motors Global Group Vice President Gary Cowger and former UN Ambassador Andrew Young serve as Co-Chairs of the Foundation’s Executive Leadership Cabinet.  National leaders joining Foreman on the Executive Leadership Cabinet include: Tommy Hilfiger, Dick Parsons, General Colin Powell, Russell Simmons, and NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Corporations, organizations, or individuals interested in participating in the Houston Dream Dinner should contact Diedra Fontaine at 713-324-8013 Taylor Paul at 512-236-1001 or taylor@jhlcompany.com. 

To schedule an interview with Harry E. Johnson, the President and CEO of the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, please contact Rica Rodman Orszag at 202 253 8974 or rorszag@mlkmemorial.org.  To learn more about the memorial please visit www.buildthedream.org

Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
A memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  The Memorial will be situated adjacent to the F.D.R. Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.  Congress passed Joint Resolutions in 1996 authorizing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a memorial honoring Dr. King to be built in Washington, DC.  The Ceremonial Groundbreaking took place on November 13, 2006 and the Memorial is scheduled to be completed in 2008.