Patrick Esser to Serve as Honorary Chair for the 2008 NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast

Patrick Esser to Serve as Honorary Chair for the 2008 NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast

NAMIC To Honor The Communications Industry's Next Generation Leaders At NCTA Cable Show On May 19th

NEW YORK, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Patrick Esser, president, Cox Communications has been named Honorary Chair for the 2008 NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast. The announcement was made today by Kathy Johnson, president, NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications). Held in conjunction with the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Cable Show, the 2008 NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast is scheduled for Monday, May 19 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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A NAMIC Annual Corporate Sponsor, Cox Communications is a longtime supporter of the trade organization's national initiatives. "It's truly an honor to support NAMIC's mission by chairing the annual awards breakfast," said Esser. "It is crucial to our industry's ongoing success that we develop a pipeline of diverse people of color in our companies and support them with career opportunities so that we can see more multiethnic diversity -- even at the top echelons of our organizations. I look forward to applauding the best of our ilk at the breakfast and thank Kathy Johnson and the whole NAMIC team for their untiring commitment to increasing cable diversity."

Presented in partnership with MultichannelNews, the 2008 NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast will be highlighted by the presentation of the Next Generation Leaders Awards. The awards program recognizes the industry's up-and-coming business leaders who reflect and embrace NAMIC's mission to educate, advocate and empower for multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Executives of color age 45 or under are eligible to vie for awards in three categories: Cable MSO, Cable Programmer and Technology Company or Discipline. Additionally, based on the eligibility criteria, nominees must hold one of the following positions: President; Senior Vice President; Area Vice President; Chief Technical Officer; Chief Functional Officer; Managing Director; Vice President; Executive Vice President; Chief Executive Officer; Chief Operating Officer; General Manager. The deadline to submit nominations for the 2008 Next Generation Leaders Awards is March 14, 2008. Those wishing to enter a colleague demonstrating exceptional practices of diversity and inclusion should visit www.namic.com to obtain the complete overview of the awards eligibility criteria, nominations process and download the official nominations form.

"The Next Generation Leaders Awards has evolved into an excellent platform for showcasing the achievements of business leaders that exemplify the NAMIC mission through their managerial practices," said Johnson. "We are excited and honored to present this important program with our industry partners."

NAMIC Board Directors Valeria Arana, director, Consumer Marketing, Telemundo Network and Mark Kang, vice president, Affiliate Relations, The Sportsman Channel will serve as Planning Committee Co-Chairs for the 2008 NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast.

In addition to Cox Communications, NAMIC's Annual Corporate Sponsors include: Comcast; MTV Networks; Time Warner Cable; Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; Disney & ESPN Media Networks; Bright House Networks; Cablevision; HBO; Rainbow Media Holdings LLC; Scripps Networks; A&E Television Networks; BET Networks; Charter Communications; Discovery Communications; Fox Cable Network; Lifetime Networks; NBC Universal; STARZ Entertainment Group; Showtime Networks Inc.; The Weather Channel and Deloitte.

For more information regarding the 2008 NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast and the Next Generation Leaders Awards nominations process contact Sandra Girado, 212-594-5985, ext. 23. Inquiries pertaining to sponsorship or table/ticket purchases should be directed to Danny McGlone, 212-594-5985, ext. 13.

About NAMIC

NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC is comprised of 2,000 professionals belonging to a network of 17 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve.

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Source: NAMIC

CONTACT: Daphne Leroy, Director of Marketing & Communications, NAMIC,
+1-212-594-5985, daphne.leroy@namic.com; or Charmaine Chapman of BTB
Communications for NAMIC, +1-310-242-8407, char@btbcommunications.com

Web site: http://www.namic.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment