Musician Aaron Neville Honors Sealy HQ With Surprise Visit

    ARCHDALE, N.C., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Musician Aaron Neville made a
 surprise visit to the offices of mattress manufacturer Sealy today.  Neville
 made the stop to thank Sealy executives and employees for their generous
 support and donations to the American Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane
 Katrina.
     Neville was greeted by a crowd of Sealy plant employees and corporate
 staff who flooded the mattress manufacturer's lobby as word spread that
 Neville would drop in on its North Carolina headquarters.
     Neville presented Sealy chairman and chief executive officer, Dave
 McIlquham with an autographed copy of his new "Christmas Prayer" CD and spoke
 in gentle tones about the tragedy and loss that he, his family and friends
 experienced through Hurricane Katrina.  Neville signed autographs, stood for
 pictures and hugged employees during his stop.
     "We were blown away with Aaron's visit at Sealy this morning.  We're big
 fans of Aaron Neville's music -- now more than ever.  And we applaud his
 tireless effort to support the American Red Cross fundraising in the aftermath
 of Katrina and Rita.  All of us at Sealy consider him a friend in this
 important work and we hope the next time he stops by, he'll give us a song,"
 said McIlquham.
     Neville's entry in the company's guest log bears his signature and under
 the column designating whom he was visiting, he simply wrote "everyone."
     Immediately following the onset of Hurricane Katrina, Sealy donated $1
 million in cash and product to the American Red Cross for Disaster Relief
 Efforts.  Sealy employee associates raised an additional $72,250 in cash
 donations for the American Red Cross.
    Neville can be heard singing "Amazing Grace" on an American Red Cross
 commercial and is very involved in fund-raising efforts for hurricane victims.
 He will donate 60 cents from the sale of each "Christmas Prayer" CD through
 Dec. 31 to the American Red Cross.  Aaron Neville may be best known for his
 performance of "Tell It Like It Is" and his duet with performer Linda
 Ronstadt, "Don't Know Much."
     Sealy has a long record of philanthropic efforts, both at the corporate
 level and through grass roots donations and generous support of its 6,300
 employee associates.  Each year Sealy, along with a consortium of other
 partners, supports the Triad Holiday Challenge, a food drive in the Piedmont
 Triad area that collects donations for the Salvation Army food pantry.
 
     Sealy, Inc.
     Sealy is the largest bedding manufacturer in the world, and is the leading
 bedding company in North America.  Including its subsidiaries, Sealy has 30
 manufacturing plants in the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Brazil,
 Argentina and Mexico.  There are a total of 12 international licensees
 operating in Spain, Portugal, Australia, Israel, Jamaica, Dominican Republic,
 Saudi Arabia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, South Africa, the Bahamas and the
 United Kingdom.  In addition to its licensees, Sealy has a joint venture in
 Southeast Asia and Korea.
     Sealy produces and sells a full range of mattresses under the Sealy, Sealy
 Posturepedic(R), Stearns & Foster and Bassett brand names.  Sealy-branded
 licensed products include: crib mattresses, sheets, pillows, mattress pads and
 comforters, office chairs, futons and sleep sofas.  For more information on
 Sealy, Inc. visit http://www.sealy.com.
 
     Contacts:
     Grayson Dixon
     336.774.9226
     grayson.dixon@mullen.com
 
     Maria Gonzalez Lachapelle
     336.403.2339
     mlachapelle@sealy.com
 
 

SOURCE  Sealy, Inc.