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Home , Blues, Lou Rawls, Patti LaBelle, You Are My Friend

Joye Griffin Toni Thompson UNCF Toni Thompson PR 703-205-3480 Office (310) 702-0926 703-483-5398 Mobile [email protected] [email protected]

Press

UNCF CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF AN EVENING OF STARS ®

UNCF SALUTES PATTI WITH ITS HIGHEST HONOR

FAIRFAX, Va. (July 21, 2008) – UNCF–the United Negro College Fund– celebrates its 30 th Anniversary with a salute to Patti LaBelle. The soulful songbird from , who has earned her rightful place among rhythm and royalty, will be honored by UNCF, the nation’s largest minority higher education assistance organization, on its 30 th annual television special An Evening of Stars ® (AEOS) presented by Target. The two-hour tribute will honor LaBelle before a live audience at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on September 13, 2008 and will be televised nationwide in January 2009.

The Grammy-winning R&B/soul singer will receive UNCF’s prestigious Award of Excellence in recognition of her distinguished career as an artist and performer and for her longstanding support of UNCF. Previous AEOS Award of Excellence honorees include Smokey Robinson, , Steve Wonder, and .

“Throughout her career, from the first notes she sang in her church choir through her four decades as a renowned vocalist, Patti LaBelle has exemplified the dedication to excellence that UNCF honors and supports,” said Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF. “Through her best-selling books and the numerous businesses she has started and seen through to success and, most of all, through her generous support of UNCF and many other charities, Patti embodies the spirit of UNCF’s iconic motto, ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste. ®’”

A industry icon, LaBelle birthed and developed a new era of women’s music, and in the process has influenced a new generation of female singers. Known for her strong vocals, her signature high-octave vocal belting and a range considered to be one of the highest in music, she is recognized as one of the country’s greatest female vocalists.

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Although she is widely known for classic such as the duet “On My Own” with Michael McDonald, “,” “I Believe I Can Fly”, “” and “,” she continues to influence current artists such as , Missy Elliot, Pink, Mya and Lil’ Kim, who paid homage to the soulful diva with a hip-hop-infused rendition of her 1973 hit, “,” for the Academy Award-winning musical Moulin Rouge.

In June of this year, LaBelle released The Essential Patti LaBelle and Live in Washington DC , a previously unreleased recorded in 1982. Her studio , Miss Patti’s Christmas was released in 2007, and she was also showcased on VH1’s popular Divas special, accompanied by superstar talents , and . Between recording and touring, she tapes her TV One show, “Living It Up with Patti LaBelle”, and managed to fit in a role in the film Idlewild. She also starred in her own sitcom series , Out All Night . LaBelle is also the author of four best-selling books: Don’t Block the Blessings , LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About , Patti’s Pearls and Patti LaBelle’s Lite Cuisine .

The list of accolades and awards Patti LaBelle has received is long and illustrious. She has won two Grammy Awards, seven NAACP Image Awards, two , a Cable Ace Award and received three Emmy ® Award nominations. She has a star on the , and in 1997, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award. LaBelle’s work as a humanitarian is as legendary as her entertainment career. Over the years, she has been a frequent performer on An Evening of Stars ® and is an advocate for adoption, foster care, Big Sisters, the American Diabetes Association and numerous other charities.

Returning for his twelfth year as executive producer and director of An Evening of Stars ® is five- time Emmy ® winner Louis J. Horvitz, whose credits include numerous years directing the Academy Awards, Daytime Emmy ® Awards, Kennedy Center Honors and Primetime Emmy ® Awards. He has also directed the MTV Movie Awards as well as the American Film Institute (AFI) tributes to DeNiro (2003), Meryl Streep (2004), George Lucas (2005), Sean Connery (2006), Al Pacino (2007), and Warren Beatty (2008).

About An Evening of Stars ®

An Evening of Stars ® (AEOS), formerly the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars ®, first aired in 1979, and since that time has become one of the longest running and most successful televised events in U.S. history. Lou Rawls, a spokesperson for UNCF and champion for AEOS for more than 25 years, is credited with helping raise more than $200 million to help UNCF scholarship recipients and member institutions and their students pay the cost of higher education. This year’s show, now in its 30 th season, was made possible by Target, as the Presenting Sponsor of AEOS and by national corporate sponsors McDonald’s, Toyota, and AT&T. American Airlines is the official airline of An Evening of Stars ® and Wachovia is the VIP Hospitality sponsor. In recent years, AEOS has featured a Who’s Who of recognizable talent, including , , , Ne-Yo, Nancy Wilson, Beyonce, , Jill Scott, , Fantasia, , , , , , Al Jarreau, Hall and Oates, Ziggy Marley, Maroon 5, and scores of others. An Evening of Stars ® received an Image Award for its 2006 tribute to Stevie Wonder. Learn more about AEOS at www..org/aeos .

About UNCF UNCF—the United Negro College Fund—is the nation’s oldest and most successful minority education assistance organization. Its mission is to increase minority degree attainment by providing financial support to its 39 member institutions, reducing financial barriers to college and serving as a national advocate for minority education. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 18 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. UNCF’s recently redesigned logo and brand identity feature UNCF’s torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” ® Learn more at www.UNCF.org . —UNCF—