Contact: Horatio Alger Association
(301) 392-6053

David W. Wilson to Receive Horatio Alger Award for Overcoming Adversity to Achieve Success

(November 23, 2004 - Washington, DC) The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. is proud to announce that David W. Wilson, Chairman and CEO of Wilson Automotive Group, is a 2005 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award and will be inducted as a lifetime Member of the organization. Mr. Wilson was selected from hundreds of nominations based on having overcome humble beginnings and adversity to achieve success. Members of the Association mentor young people and sponsor over $5 million in Horatio Alger need-based scholarships awarded annually to high school seniors who have proven their ability to overcome childhood adversities and humble beginnings.

"The lives of each of these exceptional individuals provide wonderful examples of the American tradition of proving that hard work, perseverance, and integrity are the cornerstones upon which success in our great nation, and the realization of American dream, is built", remarked Dennis R. Washington, President and CEO of the Horatio Alger Association. Each year since 1947 ten distinguished Americans have been selected annually for induction as Members of this prestigious organization. Among the 585 members of the Association are well known Americans including Dr. Maya Angelou, former Senator Robert J. Dole, boxing legend George Foreman, Reverend Billy Graham, entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga, Secretary of State Colin Powell and media-mogul Oprah Winfrey. Joining that prestigious list are this year's Award winners:

BUZZ ALDRIN, Astronaut, Chairman, Starcraft Enterprises, Colonel United States Air Force
COLLEEN C. BARRETT, President and Corporate Secretary, Southwest Airlines
DEAN A. CORTOPASSI, CEO, San Tomo Group
SAM FOX, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Harbour Group
EBBY HALLIDAY, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Ebby Halliday REALTORS
JAMES W. KEYES, President and CEO, 7-Eleven, Inc.
JOSEPH E. ROBERT, JR., Chairman and CEO, J.E. Robert Companies
RONALD M. SIMON, Chairman and CEO, RSI Holding Corporation
DAVID W. WILSON, Chairman and CEO, Wilson Automotive Group
MICHAEL B. YANNEY, Chairman, America First Companies

In April 2005 formal ceremonies in Washington, D.C. are scheduled to honor these ten new Horatio Alger Award winners and induct them as lifetime Members of the Association. A contemporaneous series of events will bring the new Horatio Alger Award winners together with over one hundred high school seniors from around the nation, each of whom will be a new recipient of a 2005 Horatio Alger need-based college scholarship. This unique opportunity affords some of the nation's most impressive and determined young people a chance to meet and learn first hand the philosophies and experiences that helped the 2005 Horatio Alger Award winners triumph over adversity and create success in their lives. For additional information about the Association's Members, programs, and scholarships, please visit www.horatioalger.org.

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