Faith Hill Joins All-Star Lineup of Celebrities and Sponsors in Support of Mississippi Recovery Effort

Faith Hill Joins All-Star Lineup of Celebrities and Sponsors in Support of Mississippi Recovery Effort

Live National Concert to Feature Award Winning Music Artists and Entertainers

JACKSON, Miss., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Sponsors of Mississippi Rising, a gala fundraising concert in support of the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund, today announced that award-winning music artist Faith Hill has joined the growing list of celebrities and entertainers set to participate in the nationally televised event on October 1, 2005. The event will be held live on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

The Fund is a non-profit organization established to serve as a means for corporations, organizations, and individuals to donate money, goods, and services to help Mississippians rebuild their communities. In addition to Faith Hill, Mississippi Rising will be co-chaired by native Mississippians Morgan Freeman, Archie and Eli Manning, John Grisham, Brett Favre and Sela Ward. The event will be broadcast live by MSNBC, local television stations throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, Mississippi Public Television and several local and regional radio stations. The list of confirmed entertainers continues to grow and currently includes:

* Morgan Freeman * Debbie Allen * Kristian Alfonso * Faith Hill * Doris Roberts * Greg Rikaart * Ray Romano * Mary Haskell * Melody Thomas Scott * Whoopi Goldberg * Gary Morris * Michelle Stafford * Jason Alexander * Marilyn McCoo * Mary Ann Mobley * Sela Ward * Billy Davis, Jr. * Gary Collins * Marilu Henner * Steve Azar * Guy Hovis * Kathie Lee Gifford * Hugh Laurie * Gary Grubbs * Kathy Ireland * Bernadette Peters * Jill Conner Brown * Lance Bass * Brian McKnight * Kristian Dambrino * Delta Burke * Deidre Hall * Gail Pittman * Gerald McRaney * Alison Sweeney * Cat Cora * Jean Smart * Peter Reckell

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and members of the Mississippi Congressional delegation also will attend and participate in the program. The event is being produced by two native Mississippians, Sam Haskell, III, and Lanny Griffith. Haskell, former Worldwide Head of Television for The William Morris Agency, has produced Stars Over Mississippi in Amory every two years to raise scholarship money in the name of his mother. Griffith is the CEO of Washington, DC-based lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers, LLC, which was founded in 1991 by Haley Barbour.

The costs of the event are being underwritten by a generous contribution to the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund by UnitedHealth Group Foundation in Minnesota. Corporate sponsorships are being solicited by a national finance team, and all proceeds will go to the Fund (http://www.mississippirecovery.com/) or a similar fund in Louisiana administered by Foundations for Recovery, The Hurricane Katrina New Orleans Recovery Fund (http://www.foundationsforrecovery.org/).

Tickets are on sale through the University of Mississippi Athletic Department (888-732-8587 or 662-915-7167). Media inquiries and reporters and editors wishing to be credentialed to cover the event should contact Taylor Gross at (202) 347-7943 or tgross@theheraldgroup.com.

Website: http://www.mississippirecovery.com http://www.foundationsforrecovery.org

Source: Mississippi Rising

CONTACT: Sponsorship Opportunities: Loren Monroe of Barbour Griffith & Rogers, +1-202-333-4936, lmonroe@bgrdc.com; Media Inquiries: Taylor Gross of the Herald Group, +1-202-347-7943, tgross@theheraldgroup.com

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