Bell Atlantic Backs the Arts in Pennsylvania

Bell Atlantic Backs the Arts in Pennsylvania

Governor Honors Company for Its Outstanding Support

September 24, 1998

PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge tonight will honor Bell
Atlantic with the 1998 Corporate/Foundation Patron Award at the 18th
annual dinner of the Governor's Awards for the Arts.

The award recognizes Bell Atlantic's strong philanthropic presence in
Pennsylvania. Through the Bell Atlantic Foundation, the company
contributes more than $500,000 annually to support innovative programs in
music, drama, dance and the visual arts throughout its Pennsylvania service
area

"The commitment to the arts demonstrated by Bell Atlantic exemplifies the
important contributions to the arts and culture made by Pennsylvania's
business community," said Ridge.

"Bell Atlantic's long-standing support of the arts is helping to enrich
Pennsylvanians' lives, as well as the communities in which we live and
work," said Daniel J. Whelan, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic -
Pennsylvania. "Bell Atlantic and its 19,000 Pennsylvania employees are
proud and delighted to be honored with this year's Corporate/Foundation
Patron Award."

Through its philanthropic program, Bell Atlantic awards grants, shares
information and develops projects and partnerships designed to improve
the quality of life in the state. As part of this program, the company
underwrites a number of arts and education programs for youth. Bell
Atlantic also is working with arts and humanities organizations to help
them use telecommunications technology for such innovative projects as
digital archiving of artwork and distance learning.

Bell Atlantic's contributions and employee involvement benefit a diverse
group of arts and cultural institutions, events and programs throughout
Pennsylvania, including Allentown, Bloomsburg, DuBois, Harrisburg,
Indiana, McKeesport, Media, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton and State
College. (NOTE TO EDITORS: A summary of Bell Atlantic's support of
the arts in Pennsylvania is attached.)

The Governor's Awards for the Arts are administered by the Council on
the Arts, a state agency. Created in 1966, the council's mission is to foster
the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania, and to
broaden the availability and appreciation of those arts throughout the
commonwealth.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically
and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in
education, health and human services, the arts and humanities, and civic
development in the communities served by Bell Atlantic. For more information,
visit www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information
industry. With more than 41 million telephone access lines and more than
seven million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are
premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market
leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory
information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest
investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations
and investments in 23 countries.

Bell Atlantic Foundation Support of the Arts in Pennsylvania

Following are some of the Pennsylvania cultural and arts organizations
funded by the Bell Atlantic Foundation:

Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's Creative Vision program
People's Light & Theatre Company's Project Discovery in Malvern
Freedom Theater's Performing Arts Training Program in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Humanities Council
Pittsburgh Dance Council
Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic
Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia
Columbia Theater for the Arts
American Music Theatre Festival in Philadelph
Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College
State Theatre for the Arts in Uniontown
Greenville Symphony Society
Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia
Mount Airy Art Jam
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra
Scranton Cultural Center
Allentown Art Museum
Allied Arts Fund in Harrisburg
Indiana Symphony Series
Fayette Civic Forum
DuBois Area Community Concert Association
Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble
River City Brass Band in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Children's Museum
Lyric Mountain Festival for the Performing Arts in Farmington