An Evening of Recognition

LOS ANGELES, Ca. (August 8, 2008) – A five-tool player, Mychal Givens has shown incomparable talent among his peers. It is because of the strength of his ability on the mound and in the field that Givens was selected as winner of this year's Jackie Robinson Award. Givens was presented the award by Sharon Robinson, daughter of the late Dodger great, during the Aflac Awards dinner at the Omni Hotel.

Givens, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound right handed pitcher and infielder, finished his junior season with an 8-1 record with a 1.79 ERA. He had 48 strikeouts in 43 innings. At the plate, Givens batted .421 with 34 runs scored, 32 hits and 17 RBI.

There were two other awards given out Friday night. Beau Wright, a 6-2, 200, RHP from Los Alamitos (Ca.) High School earned Perfect Game's Sportsmanship Award. Wright finished the season with a 1.07 ERA in 78 innings and recorded 114 strikeouts.

Wright won't play in Saturday's game because of a concussion suffered from taking a ball in the head Monday. He was held overnight for observation, but begged out of it on Tuesday so as not to miss the team visiting with the kids at the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. That is indicative of the kind of kid Wright is as he works with kids and charities in his spare time.

Matthew Purke, 6-3, 170 from Klein High School in Spring Texas, was selected Baseball America's High School Pitcher of the Year. Purke was 12-1 this past season with a 0.37 ERA and 147 strikeouts.

Other big winners Friday night were Coaches Curing Kids Cancer and ThinkCure – the official charity of the Los Angeles Dodgers – as Aflac made donations to both bringing the six-year total for funds raised through the Aflac All-American Game to $685,000.

Earlier in the day, at the University of Southern California's Dedeaux Field, the Home Run Derby was held. Matt Davidson led all hitters with six home runs. He was followed by Everett Williams with three. Rounding out the finalists with two each were Tyler Matzek, Jonathan Singleton and Richie Shaffer. All five advance to Saturday's finals, just prior to the start of the Aflac All-American Game.

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 consecutive 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.

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