Community Ties Highlight Grand Opening Of New Verizon Wireless Store In Fort Worth

DALLAS, TX — Area shoppers will find the ultimate in conveniences and services at the new Verizon Wireless Communications Store in Fort Worth. Located in Cityview Towne Crossing at 4869 Bryant Irvin Road, the new 2,400 square-foot store brings to 33 the total number of Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Verizon Wireless, known for its corporate leadership in the fight to end domestic violence, will kick off grand opening activities by donating $1,000 to Women's Haven of Tarrant County, Inc., at the store's ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce at noon Tuesday, March 27. Barry Yancey, director of Retail Sales for Verizon Wireless in North Texas, will present the $1,000 donation to Sharon Marshall, executive director of Women's Haven.

"Verizon Wireless has a long history of supporting domestic violence initiatives," said Cindy Patterson, regional president for Verizon Wireless in Texas. "Domestic violence is an issue that affects many families in our community. With this donation, we hope to play a part in increasing the awareness and prevention of domestic violence."

Founded in 1976, Women's Haven of Tarrant County exists to eliminate domestic violence in Tarrant County by sheltering victims, assisting victims to overcome and escape abusive relationships, and by preventing abuse through intervention and education. Since its founding, Women's Haven has served more than 71,000 clients involved in domestic violence-related issues.

The new Communications Store features a variety of products and services, including the a new rate plan that offers low-cost weekend and national calling as well as expanded coverage to customers in Texas. The Preferred Plan^SM includes Verizon Wireless' local footprint plus the company's nationwide network. This plan allows Verizon Wireless customers to call from anywhere on the Verizon Wireless nationwide digital network to anywhere in the nation without incurring any roaming charges. Nationwide long-distance is included. For a limited time and with a two-year service agreement, Verizon Wireless is offering 1,000 free Nights & Weekend minutes for 12 months on Preferred Plans of 400 minutes or above.

"We are providing our customers unsurpassed nationwide coverage at the cost they would expect to pay for local coverage," said Patterson. "This expansion represents our commitment to provide our customers with increased convenience and accessibility to our products and services."

Grand opening festivities at the store include an autograph session with two Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders from 5-7 p.m. Saturday, March 31. Red E. Fox of the 9-1-1 for Kids educational program will make a personal appearance from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 31, and from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday. He is a heroic, friendly spokescharacter created to make learning about 9-1-1 fun and memorable for young children. Austin Powers will be on hand from 4-7 p.m. Friday and from 2-4 p.m. Sunday.

Two radio stations will be doing special promotions at the store, including KSCS 96.3 FM from 3-5 p.m. Friday, and KEGL 97.1 FM from 1:30-3 p.m. Saturday. Both stations will offer consumers a chance to win Texas Motor Speedway race tickets. Patrons can register to win a trip for two to the 127th Kentucky Derby courtesy of Lone Star Park, or a Palm^TM V handheld and connectivity kit courtesy of Kyocera.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with 27.5 million wireless voice and data customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp -- now Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) -- and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 38,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

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