Aflac Honors Nation's Best High School Baseball Players
June 29 2008 - 7:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Texas HS Stars named to 2008 Aflac All-American High School
Baseball Game Roster COLUMBUS, Ga., June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Aflac announced today during an on-field presentation held at
Rangers Ballpark that RHP Matthew Graham (Oak Ridge HS) of Spring;
LHP Matthew Purke (Klein HS) of Spring; OF Everett Williams
(McCallum HS) of Austin; OF/RHP Jacob Morris (Coppell HS) and C/IF
Jonathan Walsh (Coppell HS), both of Coppell; and OF/LHP Slade
Heathcott (Texas HS) of Texarkana have been selected to the 2008
Aflac All-American High School Baseball Game roster. The six stars
were honored by Texas Rangers' second baseman Ian Kinsler, who
presented them with their official team jerseys. The premiere high
school All-American game in the country, the Aflac All-American
Game will take place Saturday, Aug. 9 in Dodger Stadium and will be
broadcast live on FOX Sports Net at noon Pacific Time. "We're
excited to have named these outstanding ballplayers to the Aflac
All-American roster at the tour stop in Texas and when they play
the game in August, they will also be helping us in our fight
against pediatric cancer," said Al Johnson, 2nd Vice President,
Advertising and Branding at Aflac. The annual Aflac All-American
High School Baseball Game showcases 38 of the nation's top high
school players in an East versus West matchup following their
junior year. Aflac All-Americans are chosen by the experts at our
official selection partner, Perfect Game USA, and in consultation
with the staff at baseball's most influential magazine, Baseball
America. As part of Aflac's ongoing commitment to the fight against
childhood cancer, all game proceeds from the 2008 Aflac
All-American High School Baseball Game will benefit ThinkCure, the
official charity of the Dodgers, which supports critical cancer
research at City of Hope and Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.
Since 2005, the game has generated nearly $525,000 for charity.
Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith will return as this year's
honorary chairman, and in addition to promoting the game, will be
on-site in Los Angeles for game week activities. This is the second
consecutive year that Smith has served as honorary chairman. Past
honorary chairmen have included Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson
(2006), Cal Ripken (2004-05) and Stan Musial (2003). "I wish this
game existed when I was in high school, as it's such a tremendous
opportunity for these young men to show their skills in front of a
nationwide audience and MLB scouts," said Smith. "Aflac does a
tremendous job promoting this game and working hard to support
pediatric cancer research, and I'm proud to be a part of it once
again." The Aflac All-American High School Baseball Game is
considered the country's marquee prep All-American event. All
participants must have just completed their junior year of high
school, be in good academic standing and display redeeming
qualities off the field that embody the ideals of the sport of
baseball, including discipline, determination and hard work. For
more information and tour stop photographs, visit
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/ About Aflac For more than 50
years, Aflac products have given policyholders the opportunity to
direct cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting
medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one
provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and
the number one insurance company in terms of individual insurance
policies in force in Japan. Our insurance products provide
protection to more than 40 million people worldwide. Aflac has been
included in Fortune magazine's listing of America's Most Admired
Companies for seven years and in Fortune magazine's list of the 100
Best Companies to Work For in America for nine consecutive years.
Aflac has also been recognized three times by both Fortune
magazine's listing of the Top 50 Employers for Minorities and
Working Mother magazine's listing of the 100 Best Companies for
Working Mothers. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed
on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out
more about Aflac, visit aflac.com. DATASOURCE: Aflac CONTACT: Tim
Turner, +1-706-243-5594, , of Aflac; or Matthew Freeman of Edelman,
+1-404-832-7714, , for Aflac Web site:
http://www.aflacallamerican.com/
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