White Castle Inducts Its Most Dedicated Fans Into Cravers Hall of Fame

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Known for having customers who will go any distance and overcome any obstacle just to taste The Original Slider® hamburgers, White Castle is inducting 13 dedicated Cravers into its Cravers Hall of Fame.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030828/WHITECASTLELOGO )

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030828/WHITECASTLELOGO )

Since White Castle launched the Cravers Hall of Fame in 2001, more than 6,629 people have applied for inclusion, but only 67 lucky Cravers have been instated into this prestigious club of die-hard fans.

In 2010, more than 1,350 entries were submitted—the highest number ever received. The entries were narrowed down to the best 76 stories and evaluated by a panel of judges based on the following; brand loyalty, creative presentation, originality and magnitude of the crave.

From the list of final entries, 13 new inductees were chosen. The 2010 Cravers Hall of Fame class will be inducted on November 16 in special ceremony at the White Castle home office in Columbus, Ohio, followed by a private dinner at the Ohio Historical Society.

"Our Cravers are some of the most loyal people out there. I'm ecstatic that we've had a record number of Cravers Hall of Fame entries submitted this year," said Jamie Richardson, vice president of corporate relations. "Each year we find Craver stories that are more outrageous and memorable than the previous year. While our fans and customers are definitely unique, they are the best."

This year, White Castle decided to add a "Cravers in Extremis" distinguished category to the Cravers Hall of Fame. Starting in 2010 White Castle will induct a public figure, celebrity or pop icon who has publicly shown their love of White Castle. The first "Cravers in Extremis" is Alex Weresow, a Los Angeles television producer who's worked on ABC's "WifeSwap" and MTV's "Made" and "True Life" series.

The class of 2010 inductees include:

• Perri Hunley, West Liberty, Ky., "Family Traditions"

• Eric Hambacher, Las Vegas, Nev., "Flight of the Slider"

• Nevil Cook, Bumpass, Va., "Precious Cargo"

• Angela Contreras de Wise, Kingwood, Texas, "Inter-Slider Relations"

• Dale Bemis, Oak Lawn, Ill., "Must Love Pickles"

• Victor Gradowski, Bronx, N.Y., "The Great Slider Streak"

• Roy and Mary Holdren, Bloomington, Minn., "The Sweet Sound of Sliders"

• Kristi Carpenter and Faith Stombaugh, Belle Plaine, Iowa, "A Cravercation Come True"

• Mike Ichniowski, Fort Smith, Ark., "A Slider Sonnet"

• Lester Talcott, Crystal Lake, Ill., "A Craveable Career"

• Alex Weresow, Los Angeles, Calif., "2010 Craver in Extremis"

"As a family-owned company, White Castle always strives to give back to the loyal Cravers and fans who have supported us for almost 90 years," Richardson said. "Loyalty is a quality that is important to our company and it's important to the people we serve every day."

About White Castle

White Castle is a family-owned business in Columbus, Ohio that owns and operates more than 400 restaurants in 11 states. The company was founded in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, and was the first fast-food hamburger chain. For more information on White Castle, visit www.whitecastle.com

SOURCE White Castle