Philips Consumer Electronics Donates $30,000 in Products to the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers for Education Programs

Business Wire, May 9, 2000

Business Editors

Atlanta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2000

Philips SmartCard(TM) Televisions, LCD Projectors and Boomboxes

are Just Some of the Products Atlanta Schools Could Win

Philips Consumer Electronics has donated $30,000 worth of consumer electronics products to the various educational initiatives supported by the Atlanta Hawks' and the Atlanta Thrashers' Foundations.

In addition to the sponsorship of Philips Arena, Philips also is a sponsor of the Hawks' TeamUp and FastBreak for Reading Programs and the Thrashers' Score for Schools Programs. The company also provides the Hawks' and Thrashers' Foundations with donations of electronic products. The products are used by the Foundations as incentives for schools to participate in their programs and as prizes for fundraising events.

Cascade Elementary School won the March FastBreak for Reading competition, and will receive a Philips "shopping spree", putting the power in the hands of the schools to determine which products they could utilize the most and incorporate into their curriculums. For example, if a school is in need of new televisions for its classrooms and audio equipment for its music classes, it might choose to get three 32" SmartCard Televisions and two audio mini-systems.

The Thrashers' Score for Schools Program is designed to integrate hockey into math, science, geography, history and physical education curriculums; the Hawks' TeamUp Program recognizes students' involvement in the community and volunteerism; and the FastBreak for Reading Program encourages elementary school children to read.

"In our community outreach intitiatives, we want to put our cutting-edge technology and products to work. The Hawks' and Thrashers' Foundations have implemented some terrific programs for the Atlanta area and through our partnership with Turner, we can help them broaden their reach inside and outside the classroom," said Robert Minkhorst, president and CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics, North America. "Teachers and students around metro Atlanta can utilize products such as our SmartCard Televisions, LCD projectors, even boomboxes, providing many different options for an innovative classroom experience."

"On behalf of the Hawks and Thrashers Foundations, let me express my sincere appreciation to Philips Consumer Electronics on their support of our educational initiatives," said Stan Kasten, president of the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers. "Inspiring young minds to achieve greatness in the classroom is very important to each of us, and through this partnership with Philips, we have the ability to provide students the opportunity to integrate the finest electronic products into their daily educational activities."

About Philips

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of US$ 33.5 billion in 1999. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color picture tubes for televisions and monitors, and one-chip TV products. Its North American headqurters for Consumer Electronics is located in Atlanta, GA. Philips is quoted on the NYSE, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.news.philips.com.