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Brinson Foundation Founder and Chairman Gary P. Brinson, CFA Honored by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans
Five Illinois High School Scholars Also Recognized With $20,000 Scholarship

Washington, DC – (March 6, 2008) – The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is proud to announce that Gary P. Brinson, CFA, founder and chairman of The Brinson Foundation, will be presented with the 2008 Horatio Alger Award and inducted as a lifetime member of the Association during ceremonies in Washington, DC, April 3-5, 2008.
  
The Association is equally proud to announce five high school seniors from Illinois will join Brinson in Washington to be honored as Horatio Alger National Scholars. Horatio Alger National Scholars will receive $20,000 scholarships towards a college education. The students have demonstrated integrity, perseverance in overcoming hardships, strength of character, academic promise, a commitment to pursue a higher education, and a desire to contribute to society.   

This year's scholarship recipients from Illinois are: Lindsey M. Courson from Williamsville, Brandon A. Herring from Harvey, Robert J. Johnson from Elkville, Cody A. Morrow from Aurora and Amber N. Villarreal from Waterloo.

"Our 2008 members are a diverse group of individuals who serve as extraordinary role models for our nation's most ambitious youth.  Each of them has leveraged hard work, courage and determination to overcome extreme adversity and achieve the American Dream of achievement and success," said Horatio Alger Association Chairman Dennis R. Washington. "For over 60 years, the Association has been dedicated to honoring those that have defied the odds.  We are proud to continue that tradition this year."

The 61st annual events will take place in various historic landmarks in our nation's capital such as the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of State, and DAR Constitution Hall.  The events will provide an opportunity for some of the nation's most impressive and determined young people to learn firsthand about the philosophies and experiences that helped the Horatio Alger Award recipients surmount significant obstacles to achieve successful lives.

Also being inducted in April are William F. Austin, CEO, Starkey Laboratories Inc.; J. Robert Beyster, retired chairman and CEO, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC); Joseph "Joe" Clark, chairman, Aviation Partners Boeing and chairman and CEO, Aviation Partners Inc.; Hadi Makarechian, chairman and CEO, Capital Pacific Holdings, Inc.; G. Wallace F. McCain, cofounder and vice chairman, McCain Foods Limited and chairman, Maple Leaf Foods Inc.; Lee E. Mikles, cofounder, president and CEO, FutureFuel Corporation; Joseph R. Moderow, senior vice president, general counsel and board member (retired), United Parcel Service; Aulana L. Peters, retired partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; and Robert J. Schlegel, chairman and CEO, Pavestone Company, L.P.

In response to induction into the Horatio Alger Association, Gary P. Brinson, CFA stated, "The Association's goal to help young people who don't have financial resources, but have the thirst and drive to succeed, is extremely significant to me.  Education is expensive, and if financial encouragement can help a young person move forward with their lives then I am honored to be a part of that." 

Brinson was born on October 28, 1943, in Seattle, Washington.  He paid for his college studies by working after school and weekends at the Oberto sausage factory.  Following graduate school, he took a job as an investment analyst for an insurance company in Connecticut.  While most organizations in the United States were focusing on domestic investments, Brinson joined the First National Bank of Chicago in 1979 as their CIO. He became one of the first proponents for investing pension funds in a variety of global investments, including both national and international stocks and bonds, as well as private equity, real estate and junk bonds. 

In 1989, Brinson purchased First Chicago Investment Advisors and changed the name to Brinson Partners.  They had attracted $36 billion in assets when the company was sold in, 1994, to Swiss Bank for $750 million.  Brinson was named to head the combined asset-management arm overseeing more the $910 billion in institutional assets.  Managing more than $1 trillion in assets at one point in his career, he became one of the world's most influential investment managers and is considered a "Living Legend."

Among his numerous awards, Brinson was named outstanding financial executive by the Financial Management Association in 1991. In 1999, he was presented with the Award for Professional Excellence from the CFA Institute.  After retiring in 2000, he established the nonprofit Brinson Foundation with the mission to support educational, public health, and scientific research programs that engage, inform and inspire committed citizens to confront the challenges that face humanity. The Horatio Alger Association is honored and grateful to be a recipient of one of the Brinson Foundation's many grants to nonprofit organizations. The Brinson Foundation sponsored Horatio Alger state scholarships for young people who have faced adversity in his home state of Illinois.

About The Horatio Alger Association

Founded in 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans continues to fulfill its mission of honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals in our society who have succeeded in spite of adversity and of encouraging young people to pursue their dreams through higher education. The Horatio Alger Association offers scholarships through three annual programs: the National Scholarship Program, State Scholarship Programs for high school seniors and the Horatio Alger Military Veterans Scholarship Program for U.S. veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. The Association now awards more than $12 million annually in college scholarships, totaling $52 million in recent years. For more information about the scholarships, please visit www.horatioalger.org.

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