Sir Allen Stanford

Memphis, TN - Last year’s Stanford St. Jude Championship certainly made a winner out of Woody Austin, who went on to enjoy his best season on the PGA TOUR. But the biggest winner of the week was St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, which received a record donation of $1.76 million from the tournament, the largest donation in the 38 years that St. Jude has been the sole beneficiary of the Memphis PGA TOUR event.

Austin was at Target House in Memphis today to kickoff the countdown to the 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship. Tournament officials also announced several highly ranked player commitments, all-new ticket packages for 2008, and important charitable initiatives to benefit St. Jude.

“It was definitely an honor to win the Stanford St. Jude Championship last year, not only because of the talented field I competed against, but because of the special place this tournament holds in this community’s heart and the wonderful charity it benefits,” said Austin. “I look forward to returning to Memphis in two months to defend my title.”

Austin posted a brilliant final round of 62, the best final round of the year on the PGA TOUR, to claim the 2007 Stanford St. Jude Championship.

Meanwhile, Stanford St. Jude Championship Executive Director Kevin Krisle announced today that in addition to Austin returning as defending champion, PGA TOUR stars Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and back-to-back Memphis winner David Toms had committed to play in this year’s tournament, June 2-8 at TPC Southwind.

“Celebrating our 51st year in Memphis, the Stanford St. Jude Championship has a very rich history,” said Krisle. “It is the strong support of the community, as well as the commitment from dedicated sponsors such as Stanford Financial Group and FedEx that make it one of the longest running tournaments on the PGA TOUR. We’re excited with the way this year’s field is shaping up, and we’re looking forward to entertaining our fans with another first-class tournament.”

Tickets for the Stanford St. Jude Championship are currently on sale with a number of new ticket options available to fans in 2008, including free admission to the tournament grounds for children 15 and younger when accompanied by a ticketed adult. Discounted tickets, which are available through May 15, include adult One-Day tickets for $20 and $75 for a season ticket. Tickets are available now by visiting www.stanfordstjude.com or by calling (901) 748-0534.

In addition, Club Eagle, a redesigned hospitality ticket package, entitles fans to two admissions to the tournament, plus access to an open-air hospitality tent behind the 11th green. The $325.00 package also includes complimentary bottled water and soft drinks, one Lot-X season parking pass, and an Eagles for St. Jude hat, golf towel and bag tag. Most importantly, the Club Eagle package includes a $50 donation to the Eagles for St. Jude program.

Eagles for St. Jude is a program created by Stanford Financial Group during its first year of title sponsorship of the Stanford St. Jude Championship to provide a season-long fundraising component for St. Jude. For each eagle carded on the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour, Stanford donates $1,000 per eagle to Eagles for St. Jude.

PGA TOUR professional Vijay Singh, who serves as the Eagles for St. Jude ambassador, has committed to donate $5,000 for every eagle he makes. He is joined by other individuals, companies and golfers who have made commitments to the program, including golfers Camilo Villegas and Morgan Pressel who have committed $3,000 and $1,000, respectively, for each eagle they make. Eagles for St. Jude is also supported by The Golf Channel, which provides season-long updates and promotional support. More information on the program can be found at www.eaglesforstjude.com.

During the press conference, Austin helped officials present gold volunteer recognition pins to several tournament volunteers who have reached a five-year anniversary of more than 25 years of volunteer service. These volunteers included Gallery Marshals Robert Roberts (25 years), Dick Gardner (25), Mark Hunter (25), Brenda Porter (25) Dennis Taylor (25), Jerry Keenum (30) and Robert Laurie (30). Also honored were Olen Steppe (Volunteer Hospitality, 25 years); Ellen Meyer (Mobility-Impaired Spectators, 25); Buddy Johnson (Volunteer Hospitality, 30) and Don Goin (Scoring, 35).

Prior to his Target House visit, Austin stopped at Idlewild Elementary School to witness a demonstration of The First Tee National School Program (NSP) — an entry-level golf curriculum designed to be a part of elementary school physical education programs. The First Tee National School Program curriculum is based on national physical education standards and utilizes developmentally appropriate golf equipment called SNAG (Starting New At Golf) that is safe and fun for children and beginners. The program also includes character education elements through introduction to The First Tee Nine Core Values™ — honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment.

NSP curriculum is being taught at 33 Memphis City Schools through the financial support of the Stanford St. Jude Championship. With support from the PGA TOUR and a growing number of tournaments and other sponsors, the National School Program is now being taught in more than 2,000 elementary schools across the nation. It has also established an impressive number of golf industry partnerships that encourage students to pursue their interest in golf and adopt its values beyond the classroom.

During the press conference, Suzanne Hamm, Stanford’s Chief Marketing Officer for North America, said: “It’s quite an honor to have the Stanford name associated with a tournament so steeped in history and tradition. Our commitment to support St. Jude is what convinced us to become title sponsor of this PGA TOUR stop. The fact that we were able to make a record donation to St. Jude for the 2007 tournament just gives us more incentive to continue to enhance the event and make it one of the top-rated on the TOUR.”

The event has witnessed many historic moments (President Gerald Ford’s hole-in-one during the 1977 Celebrity Pro-Am, Al Geiberger’s record-setting round of 59 in that same year), but since 1970, when St. Jude was named the event’s sole charity, the tournament has always been known for its commitment to helping children, ensuring that the tournament’s impact on the community lasted well beyond one week each summer.

This June, the event celebrates its 51st year in Memphis, and second-year title sponsor Stanford Financial Group has ensured that the tournament’s legacy continues, both on the golf course and in the community.

A PROMISE KEPT

More than a half-century ago, Danny Thomas was living in Detroit — a struggling entertainer torn between dedication to his craft and responsibility to his wife and newborn. With $7 in his pocket and a tough choice to make, he did what he’d watched his mother do in times of trial – he prayed. The next morning, he won an acting job that gave him just enough money to pay a hefty hospital bill that had loomed over his family like a dark cloud.

Later, at another crossroads, he went to a church and knelt before a statue of the patron saint of hopeless causes, St. Jude Thaddeus, asking the saint to “show me my way in life.” In return, he pledged to one day build a shrine to the saint. The strength he gained from this prayer prompted him to move his family to Chicago to pursue his career.

In his promise to St Jude, the seed that would one day become St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was planted. Throughout his successes in films and television, including the multi-Emmy winning “Make Room for Daddy,” he never forgot his promise.

His shrine to St. Jude became a refuge for the sickest children in the world, a place where they would be cared for regardless of race, religion or creed — a hospital where no suffering child is turned away because of a family’s inability to pay.

Opened in 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was the first institution established for the sole purpose of conducting basic and clinical research into catastrophic childhood diseases, mainly cancer. Today, the hospital maintains 60 inpatient beds and treats about 230 patients a day, most on an outpatient basis. It remains the largest childhood cancer research center in the world in terms of the number of patients enrolled in research protocols and successfully treated, bringing overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent in 1962 to more than 70 percent today.

“No child should die in the dawn of life.”

Danny Thomas

A DREAM CONTINUED

The Stanford family of companies were also founded on a promise that dates back many decades… a promise to always work hard with a clear vision and provide clients with constant and true value. But underlying this promise was an even deeper commitment to strengthen each and every community served by Stanford.

For the entire global Stanford family, nothing strengthens a community more than healthy, happy children. Following this 75-year legacy of strong community investment, Stanford named St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital its global Corporate Charity of Choice in 2006.

Among the many ways Stanford supports St. Jude, the company has assumed title sponsorship of the Stanford St. Jude Championship, the PGA TOUR event played in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, the Stanford St. Jude Championship is the one and only PGA TOUR stop that retains the name of the nonprofit beneficiary. In addition, Stanford’s vision for the future of the tournament and dedication to the St. Jude mission can also be glimpsed in the Eagles for St. Jude program. For every eagle made on the PGA TOUR, Stanford is making a donation to St. Jude.

Local Stanford offices lend their support to St. Jude by sponsoring fundraising events and initiatives in any Stanford market where they occur. On a global basis, Stanford is helping the hospital fight cancer by supporting the St. Jude International Outreach Program. The program helps develop pediatric oncology centers at partner sites in countries around the world and trains medical professionals to diagnose and treat childhood cancers, creating a life-saving force that spans the globe. Stanford is honored to continue Danny’s dream of finding cures and saving children.

“I believe nothing strengthens the community more than healthy, happy children. Nothing.”

Sir Allen Stanford

Archived November 1, 2006

Houston, TX (November 1, 2006) – Camilo Villegas, the Colombian-born PGA TOUR rookie, has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Stanford Financial Group. The announcement represents an increased presence with the PGA TOUR for Stanford, a Houston-based global financial services company. Stanford is the new title sponsor for the 2007 Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis, formerly the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Villegas currently ranks 38th on the PGA TOUR money list and, as a result, is now exempt into the 2007 Masters Tournament. Villegas is the first native-born Colombian to qualify for The Masters. A Rookie-of-the-Year contender, he has four top-five finishes this year highlighted by his 2nd place finish one shot behind Tiger Woods at the Ford Championship at Doral earlier this year.

Specific financial terms of the endorsement deal were not disclosed, but the relationship includes logo representation, personal appearances, and the player’s inclusion in Stanford branding initiatives. As part of the agreement, Villegas will be featured in a new national advertising campaign for the Stanford St. Jude Championship. He was in Memphis recently on location for the production shoot where he was featured alongside the famous gates of Graceland, Elvis Presley’s historic landmark home, as well as other notable Memphis landmarks, including the Mississippi River and The Peabody Hotel.

Villegas’ celebrity star is expanding beyond the world of golf. He’s been featured in dozens of magazines and cover shots in the last year, including the July 2006 issue of GQ and People Magazine’s “Hottest Bachelors” in 2006. Villegas is the only professional athlete chosen for the annual People feature.

According to R. Allen Stanford, Chairman and CEO of Stanford Financial Group, Villegas’ international appeal is what attracted the company to endorse the South American golfer. His popularity in his native Colombia caused Colombian TV to pick up 30 PGA TOUR golf broadcasts in 2006.

“We are a global wealth management company with a significant footprint in Latin America. Golf is a sport that transcends borders, and Camilo represents what we think of as the new international face of golf. We’ve made a significant commitment to align our brand with the PGA Tour in taking over title sponsorship of the Stanford St. Jude Championship. Our relationship with Camilo allows us to enhance our alliance with the game of golf, a sport that resonates with our clients across the globe,” said Stanford.

In addition to the endorsement deal, Stanford Financial Group will be working with Villegas to create a charitable foundation based in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia. The foundation, details of which will be announced in early 2007, will provide opportunities for Villegas to carry out signature community investment initiatives.

Villegas said he is excited about the relationship with Stanford. “I have tremendous respect for Stanford Financial Group. The company does things in a way that is of the highest quality - they only work with the best and they only partner with the best. So to be selected to represent the Stanford brand is a real honor for me. I am proud to wear the Stanford logo and expect only great things to come from this endorsement,” he said.

In May the PGA TOUR and Stanford Financial Group unveiled the new name and logo for the Stanford St. Jude Championship and announced significant enhancements for the PGA TOUR stop, including a new date and enhanced purse. In 2007, the event will move from Memorial Day weekend to occur one week prior to the U. S. Open. The Stanford St. Jude Championship is set for June 4-10. The new timing increases the likelihood that the tournament will attract many of the top international players, such as Villegas, tuning up for the U.S. Open.

Next year’s purse will increase to $6 million, making it one of the largest purses on the PGA TOUR, and positioning Memphis among the most important stops in the new FedEx Cup season. The 2007 Stanford St. Jude Championship, the 50th anniversary of the tournament, will be played at the Tournament Players Club Southwind. Organizers are planning several anniversary celebrations to commemorate the history of the event and its support of St. Jude.

Mr. Stanford said the sponsorship of the event and its support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fits nicely with the company’s community investment priorities and its goal to secure strategic marketing opportunities.

“We’re so glad to partner with the PGA TOUR, the premier sports marketing brand in the world, and at the same time support a charity that means so much to the children of the world,” said Stanford. “St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital represents the best of what can be accomplished when individuals and corporations are good stewards of their resources and are committed to making
a true difference. It is for this reason St. Jude has become the Stanford corporate charity of choice, and we’re honored to be title sponsor of this important event in 2007. From a co-branding perspective, the PGA TOUR represents the qualities that we at Stanford hold in high esteem - honor, integrity and an unwavering commitment to excellence,” he said.