First Lady and Time Inc. unveil TeachersCount campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, October 6, 2006—First Lady Laura Bush spoke yesterday at the official launch of the TeachersCount National Social Marketing Campaign, presented by Time Inc. The campaign consists of print public service announcements that appear throughout the Time Inc. family of magazines with the aim of raising the status of the teaching profession. Each ad features a high-profile individual and his or her favorite teacher, along with the tagline, "Behind every famous person is a fabulous teacher."

Mrs. Bush and Charlene Gnagy, the First Lady's most inspiring teacher, appear in one of the TeachersCount ads together. Mrs. Bush said during her speech, "Excellent teachers like Mrs. Gnagy show their students that there's an adult who cares about them, who respects them, and who believes in them." Mrs. Gnagy joined Mrs. Bush at the event, which took place at Time Inc. headquarters. Time Inc. has donated millions of dollars worth of ad space to run the ads thoughout its many magazines.

Other ads in the campaign feature famous people like Jeremy Piven of Entourage, Edie Falco of The Sopranos, Tony Shalhoub of Monk, and NYU President John Sexton. More ads, it was announced, are in the works, including one featuring Kenneth Chenault, the CEO of American Express.

Diana Burroughs, the Executive Director of the non-profit TeachersCount, also spoke at the event. During her speech, Dr. Burroughs thanked Time Inc. and Jones New York In The Classroom, the corporate cause initiative of Jones Apparel Group. Jones New York In The Classroom raises dollars and awareness for vital teacher-based programs, including the TeachersCount National Social Marketing Campaign. TeachersCount is a national, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that strives to raise the status of the teaching profession and provide resources to the education community.

For more information about the TeachersCount ad campaign, please visit http://www.teacherscount.org/campaign/.

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