Actress Angela Bassett to Serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund's Anniversary Awards Gala

Actress Angela Bassett to Serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund's Anniversary Awards Gala

- Gala to Honor Leadership in Corporate Philanthropy, Higher Education and Community Service -

NEW YORK, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Inc. (TMSF and the Fund) today announced Golden Globe Award-winning actress Angela Bassett will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies for the organization's 18th Anniversary Awards Dinner on Monday, November 7, 2005, 7:00 p.m. at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers.

Bassett will preside over TMSF's gala and ceremonies, the organization's single largest annual event. The event draws more than 1600 attendees each year including national business leaders, civic leaders, educators and celebrities. The TMSF Leadership Awards, the organization's highest honors, are bestowed to four individuals in recognition of their demonstrated commitment to advancing higher education, supporting public Historically Black Colleges and universities (HBCUs), promoting diversity and for exemplary leadership in their respective professions and community service.

About the 2005 TMSF Leadership Awards honorees:

- The Corporate Leadership Award recipient is Michael E. Szymanczyk, Chairman & CEO of Philip Morris USA.

- The Educational Leadership Award recipient is Dr. Portia Holmes Shields, President Emeritus of Albany State University (Albany, Georgia).

- The Alumni Leadership Award recipient is Joe W. Laymon, Group Vice President, Corporate Human Resources and Labor Affairs, Ford Motor Company.

- The Community Leadership Award recipient is William Lucy, President of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and International Secretary & Treasurer, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.

Leadership Award recipients are also selected based on their outstanding support of TMSF's mission to provide leadership development opportunities, scholarships and programmatic support to students and capacity-building support to its 47 member public HBCUs.

John Esposito, President & CEO, Moet Hennessy USA and Thomas J. McInerney, Chief Executive Officer of ING U.S. Financial Services and the 1998 Corporate Leadership Award recipient, are serving as co-chairs of TMSF's 18th Anniversary Awards Dinner.

The Gallup Organization, ING U.S. Financial Services and Moet Hennessy USA are the title sponsors of the annual event.

"Each year, TMSF recognizes leaders who are committed to advancing TMSF's mission of populating the nation with leaders and Angela Bassett is an ideal partner to our event this year given her vast professional, educational and community service accomplishments," said Dwayne Ashley, president & CEO of Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, Inc. "Ms. Bassett and our honorees each hold exemplary records of leadership in their respective professions and we are very excited that she will be part of our special evening."

About Actress Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett, winner of a Golden Globe Award and a three-time winner of the NAACP Image Award, has starred or appeared in more than 20 motion pictures. Her credits include "What's Love Got to Do with It," (Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture and NAACP Image Award, both in 1993); "Waiting to Exhale," (NAACP Image Award, 1996); and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," (NAACP Image Award, 1998). In 1991, Bassett was nominated for an Academy Award in for her role in the film "Boyz N' the Hood." She has held a number of prominent roles in a wide range of television movies and television programs. Bassett is also an accomplished theater actress who has appeared in two Tony Award winning stage productions among other theater appearances.

Due to her academic achievements, Bassett was accepted into Yale University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in African-American studies and earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Yale School of Drama. Bassett also holds an honorary doctorate degree from Howard University.

To learn more about the 18th Anniversary Awards Dinner, visit the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund at www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org.

The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, Inc., named for the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice, is the only national organization of its type that provides merit-based scholarships and programmatic support to students attending the nation's public historically black colleges and universities. The organization also provides capacity building support to its 47 member schools. Since its inception in 1987, the Fund has awarded more than $50 million in scholarships and programmatic and capacity support, enabling more than 5,000 students to attend public Historically Black Colleges and Universities. TMSF also provides internship programs and joins corporate and foundation partners in providing leadership training and support to students preparing for undergraduate and professional schools. TMSF is a 501(c) 3, tax-exempt organization.

Source: Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Inc.

CONTACT: Jennifer Jiles, TMSF, +1-770-840-6339, or Cheryl Gentry, Glow Media New York, +1-212-239-2455

Web site: http://www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org/

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