News Release

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Kerry Stanfield
SideKick Communications, Inc.
770.614.3920
sidekickcomm@mindspring.com

The Herring Foundation of Hope Announces its Third Annual Charity Ball and Silent Auction
-- Proceeds to benefit recently diagnosed cancer patients --

ATLANTA - January 31, 2003 - The Herring Foundation of Hope - a non-profit organization committed to making a difference in people's lives by providing current and accurate information on cancer - today announced plans for its 2003 Charity Ball and Silent Auction to be held on Saturday, February 22 at 7 p.m. at The Marriott located at 5750 Windward Plaza in Alpharetta.

"After several successful years of educating more than 1,800 cancer patients in their treatment options, we are excited to host our third annual event," said Mark Blount, director of marketing for The Herring Foundation of Hope. "It promises to be a fun event and one that will impact the lives of many others. For that reason, we encourage all people to support this worthwhile cause."

The event theme - "A Night of Magic" - will feature mystical décor, Merlin, magicians, caricature artists, tarot card readers and palm readers. In addition, a silent auction will feature sports memorabilia, art, jewelry, vacations and more. The event is black tie optional and the cost is $100 per person, which includes heavy hors d'oeuvres.

Event proceeds will benefit recently diagnosed cancer patients through The Hope Kit, a roadmap of materials which includes books, audio tapes and other resources designed to assist individuals in their research of treatment options and how to deal with a new cancer diagnosis. The Kits - which have a retail value of almost $200 each - are offered at a nominal charge to individuals who have been recently diagnosed with cancer. It includes information on a wide range of cancer treatment options including conventional, complementary and alternative treatments. In addition, the kit also contains a diverse collection of books, audio tapes, current news articles on cancer related topics, a healing journal, reference web sites, tips on organizing medical records as well as information to assist family in caring for a patient. All are included in a tote bag for maintaining materials and other resources such as test results, medical reports and film records.

For additional details or to pre-register for the event, please visit www.herringhope.org/events/events_ball.asp. or contact Sharon Burton, event chairperson at 770.446.7738 or sharonb@herringhope.org.

The Herring Foundation of Hope is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization. Thanks to its network of more than 100 volunteers, administration and overhead costs are kept to a bare minimum. More than 94% of gifts and grants to the foundation go directly towards cancer prevention and benefiting cancer victims. The Herring Foundation of Hope is named in honor of Jeff Herring, an Alpharetta resident and courageous cancer victim who was a well-known member of the Alpharetta community.