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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals, Capital BlueCross and Southern Middle School Join Forces With 'Skate and Educate' Program

January 3, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, Capital BlueCross and Southern Middle School today launched a "Skate and Educate" initiative that will allow students at Southern Middle School to earn the opportunity to watch the Royals practice for-and play in-an upcoming ECHL game. More specifically, all students at Southern Middle School who meet the academic and conduct criteria established by the school administration will be transported by the school to the Sovereign Center on Wednesday, February 20, to attend the Royals' pre-game skate from 10 - 11 am. While at the practice, the students will have an opportunity to meet the Royals' players and get a 'chalk talk' from Head Coach Karl Taylor. Each of these students will also receive a free ticket to that night's game at the Sovereign Center to watch the Royals take on the Elmira Jackals at 7:05 pm. In conjunction with the Skate and Educate program, students and members of the Southern Middle School Parent and Family Organization will have an opportunity to raise funds for their organization by selling tickets to that night's game.

"The Skate and Educate program has motivated many of our students to improve their attendance as well as their academics. The Skate and Educate program also provides our students the opportunity to experience the fun, fast-paced game of hockey," said Joel Brigel, principal Southern Middle School. "Too often we hear news of those negative things taking place in the city of Reading. It is a pleasure to honor the positive accomplishments of our students in this manner."

"I applaud (principal) Joel Brigel for taking the initiative to utilize the Royals as an opportunity to motivate the students at his school and to improve the educational opportunities for the kids at Southern Middle School," commented Royals general manager Gordon Kaye. "The Skate and Educate Program is designed to allow schools and school districts to define the right program that best suits the needs of the students and the communities they serve - and we hope that Southern is the model of great things to come for all Reading-area and Berks County Schools. We, as a community, need to continue to be innovative in our approach to motivating and teaching students - and our hope is that the Skate and Educate program can be another tool for school administrators and teachers in their attempt to improve the educational opportunities for their students."

As the largest insurer in Berks county, Capital BlueCross serves most of the area's school districts and is the exclusive health insurer for the Reading Royals. According to Tracy Onorofsky, Senior Sales Director at Capital BlueCross, "The people of Berks country just gave us the People's Choice award as the leading health insurer for the 5th year in a row. Being a main sponsor of the Reading Royals and supporting programs like Skate and Educate is a great way for Capital BlueCross to give back to the community and help ensure the future of the region."

The Royals and Capital BlueCross encourage all local schools to get involved in the Skate and Educate Program. It's easy, fun and rewarding, and all schools have to do to get involved is contact Betsy Roxburgh (610-898-7225) in the Royals' office for more information.

The Royals are on the road for four consecutive games, starting on Friday night (January 4) in Cincinnati (7:30 pm). The Royals return to the Sovereign Center on Friday, January 11 (7:05 pm), to face the Wheeling Nailers, when the Royals will host "Teacher Appreciation Night" and the first 1500 fans will receive a Royals' notecube. The game night radio broadcast this Friday night from Cincinnati will begin at 7:00 pm with the pre-game warm-up show on ESPN Radio 1240 am and on the internet at www.royalshockey.com. Streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through the B2 Networks.

Capital BlueCross is the leading health insurer in its region, providing health insurance coverage to nearly one million people in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. Capital BlueCross is committed to making health insurance simple for its customers and members through all the stages of life by offering nationally acclaimed customer service and a full range of innovative benefit programs at competitive prices. The company has been providing health security to the people and communities of central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley for 70 years and employs more than 2,300 people in the region.

Capital BlueCross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

More information about Capital BlueCross can be found at www.capbluecross.com.

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