FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 4/25/2008

Beau Rivage Resort Honored for Volunteer Service

2008 Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Awards

Biloxi, Miss. - Beau Rivage Resort has been selected for the 2008 Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Award for Achievement in Volunteer Service by a Business or Corporation. They will be honored at the 16th Annual GIVE Awards Ceremony at noon on April 25, 2008 at the Jackson Marriott for their work in assisting area nonprofit organizations with fundraisers and their excellent record for employee volunteer service. The awards are presented by the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, Governor Haley Barbour, and First Lady Marsha Barbour.

The GIVE Awards are a powerful reminder of Mississippi citizens whose spirit of generosity and goodwill is essential to their communities, said Marsha Meeks Kelly, executive director of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service.

Beau Rivage is committed to helping Build A Stronger Community along the Gulf Coast. They contributed more than $65,000 in cash, $625,000 for in-kind services and 50,000 volunteer hours this past year. Fundraisers on property were held for numerous charities, helping those agencies raise over $800,000 for work on the Coast. Beau Rivage hosted and underwrote the Governor’s Cup at Fallen Oak Golf Course so all proceeds could go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast. The event raised $2.75 million. Employees contribute by speaking at events, participating in walks, city-wide cleanups, mentoring programs and many other events. Employees from Beau Rivage came together with others for Community MPACT week. This outreach included preparing relief duffle bags for homeless, filling gift bags for elderly and reading books on CD for the Audio Book Club Library for area hospitals. Beau Rivage continues to support hundreds of non-profit organizations by donating money, food, paper products, door prizes and other services.

In 2007, Beau Rivage donated $208,064 to the MGM Mirage Voice Foundation, which is funded by contributions from employees.

Other 2008 GIVE Award categories and recipients are:

Lifetime Achievement in Volunteer Service
Dr. Robert “Bob” Donald, Jr.—Pascagoula
An active volunteer his whole life, Dr. Bob Donald, has traveled to Honduras five times leading teams on medical mission trips. He is founder of United Christian Outreach/ Our Dailey Bread soup kitchen, has been involved with the Jaycees, Bacot Home for Youth, Recreation Commission, Habitat for Humanity, Excel by 5, Education on the Move and many other community programs. He is presently working on establishing a Big Brother/ Big Sister program. Volunteer work was balanced with his duties as chief of staff at Singing River Hospital and president of Singing River Medical Society.

Achievement in Volunteer Service by Youth (18 and younger)—Co-recipient
Claire Crawford—Starkville
Claire Crawford has had nine cleft-related surgeries. Always taking a stuffed animal into surgery with her for comfort, she started Claire’s Bears, to provide a cleft-lip bear for children having cleft surgery. She also founded Operation Smile at Starkville High School to raise funds to provide children in developing countries with cleft-lip repairs. Crawford is highly involved at school, church, Girl Scouts and other organizations. Her volunteer hours usually exceed 20-25 hours per month.

Achievement in Volunteer Service by Youth (18 and younger)—Co-recipient
Cooper Kennard—Starkville
Cooper Kennard founded Project Armstrong to provide cleaning supplies, snacks, toys and gifts for families staying at the Memphis Ronald McDonald House. He participated in Fort Worth’s Beautiful Feet Ministries, the 2006-2007 YES! (Youth Engaged In Service) team, represented Starkville High at 2007 MSU Young Guns Leadership Conference and Starkville Rotary recognized him as a SHS Star Student. He currently serves as Vice-Chairman of Northeast Mississippi Youth Foundation.

Achievement in Volunteer Service by an Adult (19-59)
Cynthia Keys—Seminary
While establishing the Junior Citizenship Corps Club through America Reads Mississippi at Mount Olive Elementary, AmeriCorps member Cynthia Keys also developed the Mount Olive Angel Tree Project. She identified students in need of school uniform clothing and solicited staff to choose from the tree and purchase clothing. Forty-seven students were adopted, with more than $4000 in gifts purchased.

Achievement in Volunteer Service by Senior Adults (60+)
Mary Leverault—Jackson
Mary Leverault started an annual Vision Screening Program at Spann Elementary, recruiting help from area businesses and volunteers from her church. She also tutors children in the ESL (English as Second Language) program. For 15 years she has worked effectively with students to provide services they might lack and helping them succeed academically.

Achievement in Volunteer Service in the Arts and Humanities
Dr. Barbara Carpenter—Jackson
For three decades, Dr. Barbara Carpenter, Executive Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, has given her personal time and energy to mentor and create networks to strengthen Mississippi arts and humanities by building intellectual capital and developing individual humanities and arts capacity for the state.

Achievement in Volunteer Service by a Public Servant
Nathaniel Williams—Vicksburg
Nathaniel Williams works with “at risk” males at Vicksburg Family Development Service. He is founder and Director of Mighty Train of Gospel, a citywide youth choir. Other nonprofit agencies also benefit from his skills and expertise. Williams commits six evenings each week to volunteer work and is actively involved with Ebenezer Baptist Church’s youth Sunday school and church choir.

Achievement in Faith-Based Volunteer Service—Co-recipient
Nancy Collins—Tupelo
The Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo began as a dream of Nancy Collins to fulfill the need for physical, spiritual and emotional care for the terminally ill. She brought community leaders together and worked to raise funds, hire staff, lobby for changes in Medicare legislation and have property donated. Collins continues to advocate and volunteer for Sanctuary Hospice. Over 550 individuals have entered the house to date.

Achievement in Faith-Based Volunteer Service—Co-recipient
Colonial Heights Baptist Church—Ridgeland
Colonial Heights Baptist Church has played a major role in the achievements of George Elementary in Jackson by volunteering and serving the school in a variety of capacities. The effectiveness of this partnership is evident in the test scores, parental involvement, student attendance and heightened school morale. The active participation and commitment from the church helps to encourage and inspire teachers, students and parents in the Battlefield Community.

Achievement in Volunteer Service by a Community Partnership
Building Goodness Foundation—Charlottesville, Va. for work in Pearlington, Ms.
Building Goodness Foundation (BGF) organizes skilled craftspeople, construction professionals and other volunteers to design and build community structures for neighborhoods in need. Following Hurricane Katrina, BGF responded by building shelters for people and their belongings in Pearlington, MS and are currently working on a new community center. Since September 2005, over 200 BGF volunteers have contributed more than 14,000 volunteer hours to help rebuild Pearlington.

The GIVE Awards are sponsored in part by BlueCross BlueShield of Mississippi, The Clarion-Ledger, Entergy, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, The Maddox Foundation, AT&T, BankPlus, Chevron, Grand Biloxi Casino, Mississippi Printing, T.L. Wallace Construction, Inc, Trustmark National Bank and The Walker Foundation.

The Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service will present the GIVE Awards at the closing luncheon of “Reinventing Mississippi: The Conference for Nonprofits and Volunteers” (April 23-25, 2008 at the Jackson Marriott). For more information about The Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, GIVE or this conference, please visit: http://www.MCVS.org.

The mission of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service is to engage and support Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities. Established in 1993, the GIVE Awards celebrate the power of volunteers to make a difference in their communities and state.

###

For More Information:
Mary Cracchiolo-Spain, Beau Rivage
mcracchiolo@beaurivage.com
(228) 386-7134