Director, Strategic Communications and University Relations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Quisa Foster, Managing Director F2Communications Group 404-867-6307 [email protected]

Donna Brock, Director, Strategic Communications and University Relations Clark Atlanta University 404-880-8337 [email protected]

Clark Atlanta University Alumni Association’s 4th Annual Spirit of Greatness Gala Join us as we raise scholarship funds for students and salute four prominent leaders:

Monica Pearson, News Anchor WSB-TV

Mr. Carl Ware, Retired Executive Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company

Dr. Reatha Clark King, Retired President and Executive Director of the General Mills Foundation and Vice President of General Mills Inc.

Professor James Patterson Director of the Clark Atlanta University Jazz Orchestra and Founder of the James Hardy Patterson Foundation

Atlanta, GA (March 12, 2012) -- Nearly two centuries after the first historically black college and university (HBCU) was founded, HBCUs still play a vital role in producing African American professionals. Although HBCUs only account for 3 percent of the nations’ colleges, they graduate over half of the black professionals and teachers in the United States. As state, federal and private funding to colleges and universities has dipped in this down economy; students need for financial aid at private HBCUs such as Clark Atlanta University (CAU) continue to rise.

The Clark Atlanta University Alumni Association’s (CAUAA) annual Spirit of Greatness Gala will honor distinguished alumni and friends of the University and raise money for gap funding scholarships for deserving students. More than 400 metro Atlanta leaders and CAU alumni from all over the nation will attend the formal event on Saturday, March 17, 2012, 7:30 p.m., at the Loews Atlanta Hotel in downtown Atlanta.

In addition to helping raise the needed funds, attendees will celebrate the achievements of four accomplished community leaders: Veteran news anchor Monica Pearson who became the first African American and the first woman to anchor a 6 p.m. newscast in Atlanta; Carl Ware, his corporate career includes serving as president of The Coca-Cola Company's Africa Group and co-chairman of its Diversity Advisory Council, as well as improving Coke's worldwide image; Dr. Reatha Clark King who served as president and executive director of the General Mills Foundation and vice president of General Mills Inc. for over a decade; and Professor James Patterson, tenured professor of music and director of the Clark Atlanta University Jazz Orchestra, his commitment to teaching Clark Atlanta University students spans over five decades.

“This is the Clark Atlanta University Alumni Association’s signature fundraising event of the year –an evening where alumni from all over the world can reconnect and metro Atlantans can engage with notable leaders in a fun and festive setting,” said CAUAA president Devin White. “More than the great food, great music and great connections, we’re looking forward to giving deserving CAU students the chance we all had to earn college degrees.”

The Sprit of Greatness Gala celebration will include an invitation-only VIP reception, dinner and awards ceremony and musical entertainment from Las Vegas’ own Motown Hitsville Review. The revue features a cast of accomplished performers that include a trio of women, a quartet of men and the seven-member Hitzville Band staring Jin Jin Reeves.

About the 2012 Spirit of Greatness Honorees . Emmy award winning veteran news anchor Monica Pearson was Atlanta's first woman, and, first minority to anchor the 6 p.m. news in 1975. In 1977, the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust named Pearson recipient of the Humanitarian Award in appreciation of her documentary, "Prejudice and Hate: Georgians and the Holocaust." In 1986, she was awarded with the Doctorate of Humane Letters from Atlanta University. She continued to break down barriers when she became the first African American and the second woman to serve as Chairman of the Metropolitan United Way, in 1988. In the summer of 2011 she was named to Yahoo!'s list of Atlanta's 10 most powerful and influential people.

. After earning his undergraduate degree from Clark Atlanta University, Mr. Carl Ware joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1974. He began his career as an urban and governmental affairs specialist and within five years he became vice president of The Coca Cola USA special markets. In 1982, Ware was promoted to vice president, urban affairs and in 1986 he was promoted to senior vice president. By 1991, he had become the deputy vice president of Northeast Europe and Africa and in 1993, Ware became head of the company's Africa group. Mr. Ware currently serves on the board of trustees for The Chevron Corporation, Cummings, and Clark Atlanta University.

. For more than a decade, Dr. Reatha Clark served as president and executive director of the General Mills Foundation and Vice President of General Mills, Inc. She is a former board of trustees member of Exxon Mobil Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company, Minnesota Mutual Companies, H. B. Fuller Company, and Lenox Group Inc. Currently, she is a Life Trustee of the University of Chicago, a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and a member of the Allina Health System Board.

. Professor James Patterson, tenured professor of music and director of the Clark Atlanta University Jazz Orchestra has dedicated his life to the education of students for over five decades. After graduating from Clark College in 1957, he became a member of the Motown Sound band traveling with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight and the Pips, to name a few. Under his direction, the Clark Atlanta University Orchestra has been fortunate to travel internationally representing CAU at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland; Jazz Club Festival in Nice, France; St. Louis Jazz Festival in Senegal; and the Ghana Heritage Jazz Festival in Ghana. Patterson is now preserving the legacy of jazz through his foundation, the James Hardy Patterson Foundation.