Hughes Wins Gold 'Stevie' from American Business Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year

Recognized for Partnership with National 4-H Council Promoting STEM to American Youth

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Jul 07, 2015, 08:00 ET

GERMANTOWN, Md., July 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), the global leader in broadband satellite solutions and services, today announced it has won the 2015 Gold "Stevie^®" Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year in the annual American Business Awards competition. Hughes received recognition for its partnership with the National 4-H Council to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and careers to youth across the U.S. through a series of events and competitions.

A panel of 200 executives selected Hughes as the gold winner among companies with up to 2,500 employees. Hughes received the award at the recent 13^th American Business Awards dinner in Chicago. This year's competition attracted more than 3,300 nominations across all categories.

The Hughes/4-H partnership began in 2014, aimed at introducing more American youth to hands-on, community-based STEM learning. Together, they have conducted several national programs to spark interest in STEM. Among them was National Youth Science Day (NYSD), the world's largest youth-led science experiment. Additional programs included "Tech Takeover Days" at several local 4-H camps, "Inspire a Future Scientist" online video contest and programs for National Engineering Week.

"The most gratifying aspect of winning this award is that it recognizes the importance of promoting STEM education and careers among today's youth," said Mike Cook, senior vice president at Hughes. "STEM proficiency goes right to the heart of the country's economic future. We are passionate about STEM, and are honored to be part of an initiative that shines more attention on that need."

"We are proud of the 4-H partnership with Hughes and excited about the impact of our STEM programs on America's future innovators and leaders," said Jennifer Sirangelo, president & CEO, National 4-H Council. "For this work and partnership to be recognized and celebrated within the business community is extremely rewarding."

The American Business Awards are the nation's premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. They are nicknamed the "Stevies" for the Greek word meaning "crowned."

About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the global leader in satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative solutions and a comprehensive suite of HughesON^™ managed services for enterprises and governments worldwide. HughesNet^® is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 4.8 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing approximately 50 percent market share. Its products employ global standards approved by the TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations and digital TV solutions. For additional information about Hughes, please visit www.hughes.com.

About EchoStar
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite and video delivery solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its EchoStar Satellite Services, EchoStar Technologies Corporation and Hughes Network Systems business segments.

For more information, visit echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.

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SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC