Dominion and The Saturday Light Brigade Team Up on Radio Book Review Project

Dominion and The Saturday Light Brigade Team Up on Radio Book Review Project

- Program Promotes Student Literacy, Creativity and Communication -

PITTSBURGH, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Saturday Light Brigade (SLB), Pittsburgh's award-winning live public radio program featuring acoustic music and interactive family fun (WRCT 88.3 FM), is pleased to announce an educational collaboration with the Dominion Foundation. The Dominion Foundation, which is dedicated to the economic, physical and social health of the communities served by Dominion companies has provided $5,000 to support a pilot Radio Book Review Project directed by SLB. The project will allow 15-20 students in grades 3-6 from Avalon Elementary School in the Northgate School District to read a book, then write and record a review of the book for broadcast on SLB. Each audio "book review" will last from one to two minutes and be written in an expository style that helps children express individual opinions and feelings to others -- with good writing and speaking skills underlying them!

"Our students and parents couldn't be more excited about this project," says Dr. Dick Stuempges, principal at Avalon Elementary School. "We are thankful to Dominion and The Saturday Light Brigade for developing a wonderful project to promote reading and communication in our community."

"This project is particularly rewarding because the technology of radio - a medium that stimulates the imagination like no other - is being used by young people for educational, enrichment and entertainment purposes, as well as to bring people together," says Larry Berger, host of The Saturday Light Brigade. "The response to the project from students, faculty and parents at Avalon Elementary School has been overwhelmingly positive. We are very grateful to the Dominion Foundation for providing the support to make this project a reality, and we hope to extend the program to more students and schools in the Pittsburgh area."

On March 12 blocks of the book reviews will begin airing on SLB's Saturday broadcasts beginning and continue to be featured until every student's book review has been broadcast. The written and audio book reviews will also be placed on SLB's website ( www.slbradio.com ) for the public to access indefinitely. The launch of the book reviews on SLB's March 12 show will coincide with a "CD Release Party" taking place later that day at the Northgate Arts Odyssey, an annual, district-wide celebration of the arts involving K-12 students and parents from throughout the Northgate School District. Each attendee will receive a CD containing all of the book reviews, thus exposing children to multiple books. In this way, the participating children will be at the forefront of a community-wide celebration and the resulting CDs will receive widespread distribution - both on SLB's show and in the community.

On the air in Pittsburgh for nearly 30 years, SLB is one of the longest- running public radio programs in the United States. Live music, on-air telephone calls from kids and adults, fun and educational interactive puzzles and games, and interesting guests have made The Saturday Light Brigade a Saturday morning family radio tradition for thousands of people. The Saturday Light Brigade radio program broadcasts live from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (Eastern) from its studios in the theater of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh on Saturday mornings through WRCT 88.3 FM. The public is welcome to watch and participate in SLB's broadcast free from 10:00 a.m. to noon every Saturday. For more information, please visit www.slbradio.com .

About Dominion

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 28,100 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves retail energy customers in nine states, including more than 350,000 natural gas customers in western Pennsylvania through Dominion Peoples. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com .

About The Saturday Light Brigade (SLB)

The Saturday Light Brigade (SLB) is a live, award-winning public radio program hosted by Larry Berger, featuring acoustic music and family fun. Broadcast since 1978, it is one of the longest-running public radio programs in the United States. Quality music, on-air telephone calls from kids and adults, fun and educational interactive puzzles and games, and interesting guests have made The Saturday Light Brigade a family radio tradition for thousands of people. Kids listen with adults, adults listen with kids, and everyone has fun together! SLB broadcasts live from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday mornings through WRCT 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh from its studios in the theater of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. Streaming and on-demand broadcasts are accessible at www.slbradio.com . SLB Radio Productions, Inc. (SLB) created The Saturday Light Brigade. The organization is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation steered by a Board of Directors and Community Advisory Board. SLB is a member of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and Association of Independents in Radio.

SLB welcomes inquiries from parties interested in partnering with, underwriting or appearing on the show. For more information please call 888-SLB-RADIO (888.752.7234), send email to slb@slbradio.com or visit www.slbradio.com . A media kit, including logos and headshots of SLB host Larry Berger, is available for download at www.slbradio.com .

Syndication Information

Since its inaugural broadcast in 1978, "The Saturday Light Brigade" radio program has been honored with 10 national, state and local awards for its unique mix of acoustic music and family fun combined with listener participation, puzzles, games, live performers and guests. The program is available at no charge to qualified non-commercial and commercial radio stations for broadcast in stand-alone segments ranging from 1 to 6 hours (with 6 minutes per hour available for local content, including underwriting and sponsorship). The program is an excellent way to serve family audiences, build community, and add a timeless, proven, high-quality program to the Saturday morning radio landscape in your area for one or more hours between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon (Eastern). For information, please call 888-SLB-RADIO (888.752.7234), send email to slb@slbradio.com or visit www.slbradio.com .

Source: Dominion

CONTACT: Kent Streeb, Director of Marketing & Associate Producer of The Saturday Light Brigade, +1-412-244-9970, or kent@slbradio.com ; or Denise Hughes, Media Relations Representative of Dominion, +1-412-232-6767

Web site: http://www.dom.com/ http://www.slbradio.com/

------- Profile: Ent