January 22, 2003

RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion will honor 10 prominent African-Americans renowned for their accomplishments and leadership at its 13th annual "Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership" educational series.

This year's presentation ceremony is tonight at the Richmond Marriott Hotel.

Dominion's "Strong Men & Women" program highlights the accomplishments of selected African-American role models and tells their stories through an educational series that is distributed to more than 12,000 schools across Dominion's natural gas and electric franchise service areas in Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

"These 10 exemplary individuals personify the importance of believing in self -- in setting high goals and striving to achieve them," said Jay L. Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power. "Through our honorees, we hope to show young people that no dream is unattainable if it's matched by equal amounts of desire and hard work."

A team of company employees selects each year's "Strong Men & Women" honorees. Judges look for candidates who have demonstrated leadership and courage in public life. Past honorees include U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Shirley A. Jackson, former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, and Cathy L. Hughes, founder and chairperson of Radio One Inc.

The 2003 honorees are:

• Raymond H. Boone - founder, editor and publisher of the Richmond Free Press; Richmond, Va.
• Donald J. Campbell - first African-American director of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration center; Cleveland, Ohio.
• The Honorable Mary T. Christian - first African-American since Reconstruction to represent the city of Hampton in the Virginia House of Delegates; Hampton, Va.
• Kenneth D. Gray - vice president of student affairs at West Virginia University and the first African-American general officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps; Morgantown, W.Va.
• The Honorable Roger L. Gregory - first African-American appointed to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Richmond, Va.
• The Honorable K. Leroy Irvis - first African-American speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and the first African-American to hold that position in any state legislature in the nation; Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Joe Kennedy Jr. - world-renowned jazz violinist, educator, composer, arranger and performer and one of the first two African-Americans in the Richmond Symphony; Richmond, Va.
• Coretta Scott King - influential civil rights leader and widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.
• Benjamin S. Ruffin - first African-American chairman of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors; Durham, N.C.
• The Honorable Belle S. Wheelan - first African-American female president of a two- or four-year institution of higher education in Virginia, and the state's first African-American secretary of education; Richmond, Va.

African-American high school seniors also participate by entering an essay-writing competition about an African-American leader featured in the "Strong Men & Women" series. The winners receive a $750 U.S. Savings Bond and their schools receive a $1,000 cash award.

This year's essay winners, selected from more than 90 entries, are:

• Raymond Palmer, Jr.
  Varina High School, Richmond, Va.
• Corey W. Boone
  Granby High School, Norfolk, Va.
• Jeremy A. Jones
  Gar-Field High School, Prince William County, Va.
• Varen Moore
  Southside High School, Chocowinity, N.C.

Information about "Strong Men & Women" can be found on the Internet at www.dom.com, keyword "strong."

Dominion has a diversified and integrated energy portfolio consisting of about 24,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves more than 3.8 million franchise natural gas and electric customers in five states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.

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