Bell Atlantic Employees Cited for Excellence Cascade Their Glory to Local Charities

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Bell Atlantic Employees Cited for Excellence
Cascade Their Glory to Local Charities

Company's "Spirit of Excellence" Award Winners Earmark Gifts
to Support Favorite Community Efforts

October 16, 1996

Media contacts:

Jim Smith, 703 974-5446
bdj6vr3@baplaza.bell-atl.com

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Eight charities ranging from a support
group for children with cancer to a scholarship fund established in
memory of a slain teacher are the beneficiaries of Spirit of Excellence
grants totaling $35,000 from the Bell Atlantic Foundation. The charities
were selected by Bell Atlantic employees who are winners of the company's
Spirit of Excellence Awards.

The grants, ranging from $2,500 to $5,000, recognize the winning
employees' commitment to excellence and innovation in customer service,
company performance and community service. The grants are made by the
company in liew of a cash award to the employees.

Four individual employees and three work teams received the Chairman's
Award in the annual Spirit of Excellence Awards program, established to
recognize and promote dedication and innovation among Bell Atlantic's
64,000 employees.

"With these awards, we celebrate more than employee
accomplishments," said Raymond W. Smith, chairman
and CEO of Bell Atlantic. "We celebrate excellence, one of Bell
Atlantic's key corporate values. Without excellence there can be no top
quality standards, ground-breaking innovations or truly inspirational
leaders.

"Our winners teach us about personal dedication: that nothing less
than total commitment -- though it means working longer hours, creating
new ways of thinking, and rearranging entire systems and structures --
will do when it comes to servicing customers or assisting the local
community," Smith said.

Employees and employee teams are nominated during the course of the year
and winners are selected to receive either the Chairman's Award or
Citation Awards.

The Chairman's Award winners/teams, their accomplishments and the
charities they supported were:


PROJECT SMART HOUSE TEAM (New Jersey)

Employees: Tom Damato, Steve Heller, Diane McCarthy, Gary Perrine, Bob
Scairpon, Deborah Scheler and Bob Spillane.

Working with the Ocean County, N.J., Vocational Technical School, this
team constructed a state-of-the-art learning lab designed to teach high
school students the technical skills needed to secure jobs in the
information industry. The students' performance was so good, Bell
Atlantic hired 10 of the first year's graduating class as technicians.

Charity: Ocean of Love, a support program in Toms River, N.J., for
children with cancer, and the General Scholarship Fund established in
memory of Kathleen Stanfield-Weinstein, a Middletown, N.J., teacher who
was abducted and slain.


THE DREAM TEAM PROGRAM (Maryland)

Employee: Wilmer Leon, III, account executive, Bell Atlantic Federal Systems

Wilmer and two friends initiated the Dream Team Program at Montgomery
Village Intermediate School and the Watkins Mill High School in
Gaithersburg, Md. Since 1992, they have worked three nights a week and
on weekends coaching youngsters who needed extra encouragement in
basketball and baseball, with the goal of developing in the children not
only sports skills, but self-esteem, teamwork, academic achievement and
community service. Leon works with the children, their parents and
schools on problem-solving processes that support the kids.

Charity: Watkins Mill High School, five $1,000 scholarships for Dream
Team members who go on to college.


CO-CARRIER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM (Regional)

Employees: Sara Abraham, Dwight Brooks, Linda Bryant, David Collins,
Elaine Elliott, Karen Fricia, Carroll Gourley, Frank Hoffmann, Jr., Leo
Kress, J. Dennis Lippa, Karen Morton, Bernie Mullin, Jeffrey Noack,
Thomas Offutt, Lisa Peterson, John Phillips, Ann Sewell, Brenda Spriggs,
Thomas Templeton, Robert Terry, Jim Tracy, Adrienne Venson, Norman
Walker, and John Wolbert.

When Maryland became one of the first states to authorize local telephone
competition, new processes and procedures for interconnecting Bell
Atlantic's network and customer support systems to other service
providers had to be created. This team developed a national model
program that meets customer and regulatory requirements while keeping
costs down.

Charity: American Red Cross of Central Maryland, Baltimore.


SANDRA MURRAY (West Virginia), manager-Bell Atlantic
Video Services

As Bell Atlantic was preparing to compete in the video services business,
Sandy developed a series of procedures, training methods and support
systems to help account executives focus clearly on customer
satisfaction. As a result, the sales team "thinks like the customer,"
anticipating, managing and exceeding customer expectations.

Charity: The House of Ruth, Washington, D.C.'s oldest and largest
social service agency for women and children in crisis.


GERALD LAATSCH (Virginia), manager-Consumer Marketing

When another company emerged as a potential competitor in Bell Atlantic's
consumer market, Jerry got an innovative idea: Why not make that company
a partner in serving our customers? Jerry overcame numerous challenges,
helped rewrite government tariffs and set up a line of business with a
competitively priced product expected to garner $20 million in revenues
in 1996.

Charity: The Hospice of Central Pennsylvania, Enola, Pa., selected by
Jerry for its support of a loved one.


JO ANN PERRY (Maryland), communications
representative-Large Business Services

Serving on two major account teams, JoAnn demonstrated an unflagging
willingness to do whatever was necessary to delight customers. Cited for
her personal integrity and dedication to customer satisfaction, she
became regional project coordinator for customers and coordinated the
work of several departments under a quality assurance program she designed.

Charity: Concerns on Police Survivors, Inc. (COPS), Camdentown, Mo, a
support service for the families of slain law enforcement officers.


TELECOMMUNICATIONS FRAUD COMMITTEE (Regional)

Employees: Mary Chacanias, Michael D'Ariono, Delores Ferguson, Dave
Fisher, Joe Fisher, Alvin Flanagan, Lisa Franks, Barrington Hibbert, Dave
Jordan, John Knupp, Mike Menne, Carolina Munoz, Eugene Pester, Jim Prince
and Ellen White.

Representing many Bell Atlantic work groups, this team identified and
evaluated causes of telecommunications fraud and implemented corrective
actions that help prevent fraudulent use of telecommunications products
and services. Working with Bell Atlantic's Fraud Prevention Center, this
team helped reduce Bell Atlantic's calling card losses by $14 million in
1995. The team also brought other industry members together in a
worldwide alliance to stop fraud.

Charity: The Back Home Cafe, Project HOME, Philadelphia, a program where
formerly homeless people work in a restaurant and learn food service
trades, while living in Project HOME facilities.


Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE:
BEL) is at the forefront of the new communications, entertainment and
information industry. In the mid-Atlantic region, the company is the
premier provider of local telecommunications and advanced services.
Globally, it is one of the largest investors in the high-growth wireless
communication marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial
interest in Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing
high-growth national and international business opportunities in all
phases of the industry.

####

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