Queen Associates Wins National Award - Ranked in Top 10

Business Wire, May 13, 2008

Honored by Michael E. Porter, Leading Harvard Business School Expert

BOSTON -- Queen Associates, Inc, QA(i), a Charlotte, NC based company, was nationally recognized by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Inc. Magazine as one of the 100 fastest-growing businesses in inner city communities. Ranked 10(th) on the list of 100 companies across America, QA(i) experienced a growth rate of 1010% over five years. Nominated by Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, Queen Associates has been located in inner city Charlotte since 2000.

Founded by Professor Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School, ICIC and the Inner City 100 list provides unmatched data on the fastest growing inner-city businesses in the U.S.

"We are delighted to celebrate businesses like Queen Associates that play a critical role in urban communities," said David G. Latimore, president and CEO of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. "These high-growth businesses create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents, and they prove our belief that the most effective way to create economic equality in America's inner cities is to focus on sustainable growth and investment."

Queen Associates, Inc, QA(i), is a premier provider of business, engineering and technology consulting services. Their expertise includes program/project management, business analysis, development, database management and other technical staffing solutions. Queen Associates was founded by Frances Queen, a 25-year technology industry veteran.

"It has been a tremendous honor to receive this recognition from Dr. Michael Porter, Harvard Business School, and the ICIC as one of the fastest growing inner city companies. We would like to thank our Charlotte Mayor, Pat McCrory, for his nomination and for allowing us to represent the City of Charlotte at this prestigious event" states Queen.

The winners operate from 58 cities and attended the Inner City 100 Summit in Boston, featuring seminars at Harvard Business School and a gala awards ceremony.

2008 Inner City 100 list highlights:

* Inner City 100 companies are 33% minority-owned. Nationally, 8% of companies with revenues over $1M are minority-owned.

* 26% of the Inner City 100 is women-owned. Nationally, 10% of companies with over $1M in revenues are women-owned.

* Inner City 100 boasts an average workforce that is 52% minority and employs inner city residents who held 43% of all Inner City 100 jobs.