AT&T Tennessee Pioneers Recognized for Nashville 2010 Flood Relief Work

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- This past November, AT&T* employees and retirees were recognized during the AT&T Pioneers celebration of its 100th year anniversary in Boston.  The Tennessee Pioneers/Greater Nashville Pioneer Council were awarded with the Pioneers Centennial Award during the Pioneers Centennial Celebration and Annual Meeting.

The Tennessee Pioneers/Greater Nashville Pioneer Council were one of six Project Excellence Health and Human Services winners, selected from hundreds of award submissions from Canada and the United States.   

"The Nashville community came together in many ways to help those in need," Mayor Karl Dean said. "I had never seen anything like the volunteer spirit shown during our flood recovery, and I commend the volunteers with AT&T Pioneers for the national recognition they received for their hard work. I am grateful to all involved who helped restore Nashville to the beautiful, thriving city it is."

"Mayor Karl Dean served as an inspiration to us all during those trying times," said Hands On Nashville Executive Director Brian Williams.  "Following his lead, we were all compelled to act and help our fellow community during the historic flood."

During the May 2010 floods in Nashville, AT&T Pioneers acted quickly and began providing relief even before the rising waters crested.  Among the first to respond, Tennessee Pioneers quickly began pitching in to provide emergency shelters with water, food items, blankets, toiletry items, diapers, baby food and other staples.

"It is quite an honor to be recognized as one of six Project Excellence winners at the Pioneers Centennial Celebration," said Melinda Davis, 2011 AT&T Tennessee Pioneers Chapter President.  "The Pioneers worked tirelessly to help those in need in response to the May floods, and I am proud our team was able to help so many in the Nashville-area and all of Middle Tennessee."

The Greater Nashville Pioneer Council also lent critical support to its sponsoring company, working with AT&T to create and execute a plan to provide mobile phone access and calling cards to area shelters. Pioneers also staffed satellite mobile phone banks to provide victims a means to contact their families for several weeks until assistance was no longer needed.

AT&T Pioneers, Life Members and Partners reported a total of 1,251 hours for disaster relief in connection with the Nashville floods.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising. 

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About AT&T Pioneers
Founded in 1911 as the Telephone Pioneers of America with Alexander Graham Bell as one of the first members, the AT&T Pioneers continue to build on the millions of hours dedicated to helping others. More than 300,000 AT&T employees and retirees are involved in the AT&T Pioneers volunteer organization. In 2009, AT&T employees and retirees, donated more than 8.5 million hours of time, worth more than $176 million, to community outreach activities— much of it led by the AT&T Pioneers.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.