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AFLAC National High School Baseball Player of the Year Nominees Announced - Jackie Robinson Award to be Presented on August 5th at AFLAC All-American Awards Dinner - COLUMBUS, Ga., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AFLAC announced today the six nominees for the inaugural AFLAC National High School Player of the Year Award, given to the nation's top prep baseball player. The AFLAC player of the year will be presented with the "Jackie Robinson Award," named in honor of the late Hall of Fame baseball player Jackie Robinson. Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife, will present the award at the AFLAC All-American Awards Dinner, which will be held at the Wyndham Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, Md., on Aug. 5. The six player of the year finalists are (in alphabetical order): - Austin Jackson, OF, Ryan High School - Denton, Texas - Cameron Maybin, OF, TC Roberson High School - Arden, N.C. - Sean O'Sullivan, RHP, Valhalla High School - El Cajon, Calif. - Zach Putnam, RHP/SS, Pioneer High School - Ann Arbor, Mich. - Iain Sebastian, RHP/1B, Columbus High School - Columbus, Ga. - Justin Upton, SS, Great Bridge High School - Chesapeake, Va. The award is named after Jackie Robinson, the first player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, and recognizes the nation's top high school rising senior, who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits leadership, and embodies the values of being a student-athlete in both his schoolwork and community affairs. "I am proud to have Jackie Robinson's name associated with this prestigious award," said Rachel Robinson. "The award stands for all the ideals Jack symbolized and celebrates the student athletes who strive for excellence and give back to the community." The player of the year nominees are determined by official AFLAC All- American Baseball Classic selection partners Perfect Game and Baseball America. "It's an incredible honor to have this award named after one of the true trailblazers in our country's history," said Al Johnson, vice president of advertising, AFLAC. "AFLAC is proud to sponsor the player of the year award and we look forward to establishing it as the premier accolade in high school baseball." The second annual AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic will be played on Friday, Aug. 6 at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md. The event is a baseball showcase featuring the nation's top 40 rising senior players in an East vs. West match-up. Cal Ripken, Jr. is the honorary chairman of the 2004 game, which will be televised nationally on FOX Sports Net on Sunday, Aug. 8. All proceeds will benefit the division of Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. "Every player selected has reached a level of achievement that few athletes will ever recognize," said Robert J. Geoghan, President & CEO of Sports America, Inc. "Their combination of natural ability, hard work and determination is what makes them great athletes and worthy of being AFLAC All- Americans." For more information about the AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic and to download pictures and bios of the player of the year nominees, log on to http://www.aflacallamerican.com/ . AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) is an international holding company. A Fortune 500(R) company, AFLAC insures more than 40 million people worldwide. It is a leading writer of insurance products marketed at the worksite in the United States, offering policies to employees at more than 307,600 payroll accounts. The company insures one out of four Japanese households and is the largest life insurer in Japan in terms of individual insurance policies in force. In January 2004, AFLAC was included in Fortune magazine's list of "The 100 Best Companies to Work for" for the sixth consecutive year. Also in January 2004, AFLAC was named to Forbes magazine's "Platinum 400 List of Best Big Companies in America" for the fifth consecutive year. In March 2004, Fortune magazine included AFLAC in its annual listing of "America's Most Admired Companies." AFLAC's Internet address is aflac.com. Sports America, Inc. is an event management and sports marketing corporation based in Rockville, Md. The company has created and currently produces the AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic and National Selection Tour, the McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game and Jordan Capital Classic High School All-Star Basketball Game. Contact: Dave Watson Dan Sabreen AFLAC Sports America, Inc. (706) 243-5420 (301) 424-9334 (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010525/AFLACLOGO ) http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010525/AFLACLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: AFLAC Incorporated CONTACT: Dave Watson of AFLAC, +1-706-243-5420, or ; or Dan Sabreen of Sports America, Inc., +1-301-424-9334, or Web site: http://www.aflac.com/ http://www.aflacallamerican.com/

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