FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brill Financial Group/MassMutual To Sponsor
Disability Awareness Night at Atlanta Braves Game
Honors contributions made by, and on behalf of, 54 million Americans with disabilities
Atlanta, GA, June TBD – The cause of people with disabilities will take center stage June 7 when Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), in cooperation with Exceptional Parent Magazine and the Atlanta Braves, sponsors Disability Awareness Night at Turner Field.
In addition to honoring local champions of the national awareness campaign to bring attention to the 54 million Americans with disabilities and special needs, the event will provide an opportunity for 250 clients and staff of local disability organizations to attend the ballgame, thanks to free tickets donated by Exceptional Parent and Brill Financial Group/MassMutual.
Disability Awareness Night honors the contributions of 54 million Americans with disabilities, their families and caregivers. Among them are Phil Southerland of Atlanta, GA, founder of TeamType1, who will receive the EP Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award from William “Bub” Brill, General Agent of Brill Financial Group at a pre-game ceremony at home plate.
Southerland, who was diagnosed as a type-1 diabetic at seven months old but who went on to become a competitive cyclist and member of the University of Georgia Cycling Club, founded TeamType1 as a way to increase awareness of type-1 diabetes and to raise $1 million for the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation. TeamType1 aims to prove that with proper monitoring and a healthy lifestyle, diabetics, especially children with diabetes, can live normal lives. To gain attention for its fundraising goal, eight members of TeamType1 will compete in, and attempt to set the team record for, the Race Across America, a 3000-mile, non-stop transcontinental bicycle race generally touted as “the world’s toughest race.” The race begins June 13.
Southerland, who is also a volunteer for Camp Kudzu, a non-profit organization providing education, recreation, and peer-networking programs for Georgia’s children with diabetes. He also supports and volunteers for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. A financial services professional with MassMutual Finanical Group, Southerland contributes 5 percent of his commissions to TeamType1.
“Given MassMutual’s longtime support of people with disabilities and other special needs and their families, we are extremely proud to be calling attention to their cause through our sponsorship and participation in the Disability Awareness Night program,” said Brill. “MassMutual’s SpecialCare SM program helps parents and caregivers effectively integrate financial analysis into a thorough, customized life plan for individuals with special needs. Our goal, and the goal of those we honor, is to help people with disabilities to live dignified and fulfilling lives.”
The EP Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award is named for the late founder and former editor-in-chief of Exceptional Parent who was an advocate for people with disabilities and other special needs. Exceptional Parent is the nation’s oldest and most widely read and referred to publication of its kind, reaching a wide audience of physicians, nurses, therapists, teachers and families involved in the care and development of children and adults with disabilities and special health care needs.
This year marks the fifth year of Exceptional Parent’s Disability Awareness Night (DAN) program, which began in 2002 with the cooperation of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Since then, many professional ball clubs have joined the unique, emotional and powerful program of recognition and awareness.
About Brill Financial Group/MassMutual
Brill Financial Group offers insurance and financial products and services for individuals, businesses and their employees. Its stringent code of ethics places the client’s needs above all others and demands uncompromising integrity in every aspect of its business conduct. Based in Atlanta, the agency serves clients throughout Metro Atlanta. Visit Brill Financial Group at www.brillfinancial.com.
About MassMutual Financial Group
MassMutual Financial Group is the fleet name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliates, with more than 13 million clients and over $395 billion in assets under management at year-end 2005.
Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a mutually owned financial protection, accumulation and income management company headquartered in Springfield, Mass. MassMutual’s major affiliates include: OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; and MML Investors Services, Inc. MassMutual is on the internet at www.massmutual.com.
About Exceptional Parent
Based in Johnstown, PA, 35-year-old EP Global Communications, Inc. is an integrated communications company providing information for families and professionals involved in the care and development of people with disabilities and special healthcare needs. EP uses a multi-media approach to disseminate information via: its publication, Exceptional Parent; Web site (http://www.eparent.com); custom communications projects; the EP Library of disability books; live and on-line seminars and community outreach programs such as the national Disability Awareness Night (DAN) campaign developed through the EP Foundation
for Education, a 501(C)3 company. Exceptional Parent Magazine has received many prestigious awards, including the 2000, 2001 and 2003 FOLIO: Gold Medal Awards for editorial excellence; and the New Freedom Award for Best Magazine & Web site in 2003 from the New Freedom Foundation. EP Global Communications, Inc. is not an affiliate or subsidiary of MassMutual and its affiliates.
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