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Outstanding Persons Recognized with the Horatio Alger Award For Overcoming Adversity to Achieve Success

(December 6, 2005 - Washington, D.C.) The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Inc. is proud to announce the names of the nine individuals chosen to be the 2006 recipients of the Horatio Alger Award and be inducted as lifetime Members of the Association. These individuals were selected from hundreds of nominations of people who have overcome adversity and humble beginnings to achieve success.

"The lives of each of these exceptional individuals provide wonderful examples of the tradition of proving that hard work, perseverance, and integrity are the cornerstones upon which success in our great nation and the realization of success are built", remarked Dennis R. Washington, President and CEO of the Horatio Alger Association. Each year since 1947 ten distinguished persons have been selected 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, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and media-mogul Oprah Winfrey. Joining that prestigious list are this year's Award winners:

KENNETH EUGENE BEHRING, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Wheelchair Foundation
DORIS K. CHRISTOPHER, Founder and CEO, The Pampered Chef
PETER M. DAWKINS, US Army, Retired and Vice Chairman, Citigroup Private Banking
J. R. "RICK" HENDRICK, III, Owner, Hendrick Motorsports & Hendrick Automotive Group
HAROLD F. "GERRY" LENFEST, President, The Lenfest Group and The Lenfest Foundation
BOONE PICKENS, Chairman, BP Capital Management
NIDO R. QUBEIN, President, High Point University and Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Company
DAVID E. RITCHIE, Chairman of the Board, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
ANTHONY J. TERLATO, Chairman, Terlato Wine Group

Members of the Association mentor young people and sponsor over $8.5 million in Horatio Alger need-based college scholarships awarded annually to high school seniors who have proven their ability to overcome adversity and want to pursue higher education. "Horatio Alger Association members are proof positive hardship is not a barrier to success. By sharing our experiences, we hope to encourage and inspire these talented young people to continue to reach for their own dreams," noted J. Barry Griswell, Horatio Alger Member and Chairman & CEO of the Principal Financial Group.

In April 2006 formal ceremonies in Washington, D.C. are scheduled to honor these nine new Horatio Alger Award winners. 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 awarded a $10,000 scholarship and be known as a Horatio Alger National Scholar. 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 2006 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 visitwww.horatioalger.org.

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