Diageo Dispatches Hurricane Isaac Disaster Aid

NORWALK, Conn., Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Diageo, the world's leading premium spirits, wine and beer company, in partnership with the Bridge Foundation, delivered two high-powered generators to Slidell, Louisiana and truck loads of Diageo bottled water to Slidell, St. John the Baptist Parish, La Place, Lafource Parish and East Baton Rouge Parish, LA.  The cities were hit hard by Hurricane Isaac and declared top priority sites by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.  The generators and water are part of Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid program which provides hands-on assistance in the wake of natural disasters.

The two 250 kilowatt (kw) generators  have been consigned to Governor Jindal's office and are currently being used to operate wells that supply Slidell with drinking water.  One is in the in the St. Joe's neighborhood, and the second is supplying the Slidell VA Outpatient Clinic with safe water.  The Slidell VA Clinic provides primary care services for veterans in the St. Tammany Parish and surrounding areas.  Services include behavioral health, laboratory and pharmacy services. 

In addition to these generators, Diageo also facilitated the delivery of bottled water to high priority neighborhoods Slidell, St. John the Baptist Parish, La Place, Lafource Parish and East Baton Rouge Parish, LA.  In East Baton Rouge Parish, approximately 100,000 people have been affected by flooding and power outages.  St. John's and LaPlace have been severely affected by flooding which has rendered water treatment and drinking water facilities inoperable.

In total, employees of Diageo's relief team, made up of employee volunteers, and Diageo's local spirits and wine distributor, Glazer's of Louisiana, distributed nearly 20,000 gallons of water throughout these neighborhoods.  Glazer's also made its Baton Rouge distribution facility available for staging and distribution of the water.  Georgia Crown Distributing Company, which bottles and stores the Diageo water, facilitated the trucking, and also staged and loaded the water on very short notice.  Georgia Crown has partnered with Diageo to bottle, store and deliver bottled water in the aftermath of natural disasters in the United States since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

One of Diageo's employee volunteers, Daine Marold, Louisiana State Sales Director, noted: "Working with Louisiana's National Guard to distribute the aid was an extremely efficient and effective process.  They are professional, well trained and as dedicated a team you can imagine.  We applaud their work and thank them for their service."  He also noted that the Governor's office and emergency preparedness team were strong partners and enabled Diageo to deliver its aid quickly to the regions that needed it most.

Guy Smith, Executive Vice President of Diageo North America said, "Diageo is in constant touch with state and city officials to determine which areas have the most critical need for potable water and generators. Any time we can be there to provide the necessary relief for disaster victims is a great day for the people of Diageo. We will continue to work closely with the Governor's office to ensure these resources are meeting the needs of the victims and first responders of Hurricane Isaac."

This relief effort is part of Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid program.  Established in the aftermath of the September 11^th attacks, the Spirit of the Americas program provides immediate relief and disaster aid around the world.

About Diageo's Spirit of the Americas Humanitarian Aid Program

In December 2001, Diageo brought the first corporate humanitarian airlift to war-torn Afghanistan by delivering more than 100,000 pounds of food and emergency supplies to 800 orphans in Kabul. In June of 2003, the company chartered a DC-8 cargo plane and delivered more than 150,000 pounds of food, medicine and school supplies to Baghdad, becoming the first American company to embark upon a humanitarian mission into Iraq.

In the 11 years since the inception of Diageo's Spirit of the Americas foundation, Diageo has delivered humanitarian aid, often in the wake of horrific storms or intense conflict, to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mississippi, New Orleans, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Grenada, Jamaica, Sudan and Louisiana.

Diageo not only funds these missions, but, just as they have since 9/11, company executives and employees also accompany the relief supplies to the crisis zone and help distribute the aid, making sure we are there every step of the way. This is what makes Diageo's humanitarian aid projects unique. Whether it's in Afghanistan, Iraq, Grenada, Haiti, Indonesia or Diageo's home state of Connecticut, the Spirit of the Americas is there.

Diageo's Spirit of America Humanitarian Aid Missions is facilitated by the Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit humanitarian aid and development organization that provides humanitarian relief worldwide.

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray, Guinness, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards Wines.

Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

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SOURCE Diageo