| AT&T and Peter Max Team Up to Raise $1 Million for Pentagon Memorial Fund - Poster Goes on Sale Nationally Today |
“I want to thank AT&T and Peter Max for their generous contribution and support for the Pentagon Memorial Project. This beautiful poster will not only help us honor those who died, it will help us build a permanent place of remembrance for future generations.”
AT&T and artist Peter Max presented a newly designed poster to family members of those who lost their lives in the September 11th terrorist attack on the Pentagon today. The poster, designed by Max and underwritten by a $25,000 donation from AT&T, was created with the goal of raising $1 million for the proposed Pentagon Memorial. The poster, which goes on sale today, will be sold nationally to benefit the Pentagon Memorial Fund, a non-profit organization founded by family members of Pentagon victims.
The posters were presented to family members at a special ceremony at Peter Max's studios in New York. In attendance were: Jim Laychak, President of the Pentagon Memorial Fund; artist Peter Max, and AT&T representative Rosemary O'Brien.
Jim Laychak, who lost his brother David in the Pentagon attack, commented during the ceremony: "I want to thank AT&T and Peter Max for their generous contribution and support for the Pentagon Memorial Project. This beautiful poster will not only help us honor those who died, it will help us build a permanent place of remembrance for future generations."
"I am honored to personally meet these families who have sacrificed so much; and hope this poster will help pay tribute to the brave men and women who were lost on that terrible day," commented Peter Max. "Like so many others, my first response to this tragedy was to ask what I could do, and it is my hope that this contribution of art will help raise awareness and funds to build a lasting memorial to their service and sacrifice."
"AT&T is honored to sponsor a project which will help pay tribute to the spirit and dedication of America's armed forces," said Rosemary O'Brien, general manager of AT&T Military Markets. "Peter Max has created an image that unites the people of Washington, DC and New York, as well as Americans nationwide, in our commitment to continue to uphold and defend freedom throughout the world. It honors those who have fought and died, and honors those who continue to battle terrorism throughout the world."
The limited edition, personalized and autographed posters go on sale today for $150 each, with a limited number of poster overpaints available for $8,000 each. Artwork can be ordered online via Global Works, a non-profit organization founded by Peter Max (www.petermax.com) or AT&T's Web site devoted to the military (www.att.com/mil), with a portion of proceeds going to the Pentagon Memorial Fund.
The Pentagon Memorial Fund
In 2003, James Laychak and other family members of victims of the Pentagon attack, established the non-profit Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. with the goal of raising $12 million for the construction of the Pentagon Memorial and an additional $8 million for an endowment for future maintenance and upkeep after dedication. The conceptual design for the 1.9-acre memorial, created by Keith Kaseman and Julie Beckman, was selected from more than 1,100 entries. The memorial park concept includes trees, water and gravel pathways bisected by 184 benches, each dedicated to an individual lost in the attack. The memorial benches are organized in a timeline according to the victims' ages, spanning three to 71 years. The 59 memorial benches honoring the victims on board Flight 77 face towards the Pentagon, allowing family and visitors to see the sky in the background when they read the name of their loved one engraved at the end of the bench. Conversely, the 125 memorial benches honoring the people lost in the Pentagon face away from the building which allows for the Pentagon to be in the background as people read the names of their loved ones engraved at the end of the bench. For more information, log on to http://memorial.pentagon.mil.
Peter Max
Peter Max is a nationally recognized artist who has been described as "America's artist laureate" since his debut on the art scene in the 1960s. In recent years, his work has focused on a variety of patriotic themes, including the Statue of Liberty and presidential portraits. After the tragedy of September 11th, he created a series of posters to raise money for the September 11th Victims Fund. After visiting the Pentagon last October to view restoration efforts, Peter Max was compelled to create a poster to raise money for the Pentagon Memorial Fund.
AT&T
AT&T (www.att.com) is among the premier voice and data communications companies in the world, serving businesses, consumers and government. The company runs one of the most sophisticated communications networks in the United States, backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs. A leading supplier of data, Internet and managed services for the public and private sectors, AT&T offers outsourcing and consulting to large businesses and government. The company is a market leader in local, long distance and Internet services, as well as transaction-based services like prepaid cards, collect calling and directory assistance. With approximately $37 billion of revenue, AT&T has about 40 million residential customers and 4 million business customers, who depend on AT&T for high-quality communications. AT&T has garnered several awards for outstanding performance and customer service.
AT&T is an official provider of personal telecommunications services for all five branches of U.S. military at 529 military bases worldwide and on 200 U.S. Navy ships afloat through contracts with AAFES, NEXCOM, MCCS and the Coast Guard Exchange. The company is also a longtime supporter of the military through the development and support of morale-boosting and quality-of-life initiatives in cooperation with the United Service Organizations, Inc. (USO), Air Force Services, the Marine Corps Community Services and Army, Navy and Coast Guard Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs.
Media Notes: For more information, to arrange interviews with the people noted above, or to order camera-ready photos of the artwork, please contact Jennifer Devlin at 202-414-0786.
Note: A photo is available at URL:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Delicious
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Digg
MySpace
Newsvine
Google Bookmark
Yahoo! Bookmark
Email
Email 
