Verizon Names Gale Given President of Public Policy, External Affairs for Five-State Great Lakes Region

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Verizon has selected Gale Y. Given to become president of public policy and external affairs for the company's Great Lakes region, succeeding John O. Dudley, who is retiring effective Nov. 21. Given currently is president of Verizon West Virginia.

She assumes responsibility for Verizon's state and local government affairs, community relations programs and advocacy before state regulatory commissions in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Verizon serves approximately 4 million phone lines in the region.

A replacement for Given in West Virginia will be named shortly.

"John has effectively led Verizon's public policy efforts in the Midwest for the past three years amid tremendous change and competition in the telecommunications industry, and Gale will build on that success," said Colleen A. McCloskey, Verizon senior vice president-state public policy and external affairs. "Gale is the ideal person to lead our Great Lakes business at a time when even more change and technological advancement are on the horizon."

A native of West Virginia, Given began her telecommunications career in 1979 in the central office engineering organization at C&P Telephone of West Virginia. She also has held positions in the West Virginia regulatory organization and at Bell Communications Research, the research arm of the former regional Bell operating companies. She was named president of Verizon West Virginia in July 2000.

Given holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in business administration from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. She currently serves on the boards of the West Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, Marshall University Foundation, West Virginia Independent Colleges and Universities, West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development and the Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T) advisory board.

Given, her husband, Joe, and their three children plan to relocate to the Indianapolis area.

A Fortune 10 company, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services, with approximately $67 billion in revenues and 221,000 employees. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with more than 139 million access line equivalents and 36 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is the third largest long-distance carrier for U.S. consumers, with nearly 16 million long-distance lines. The company is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. Verizon's international presence includes wireline and wireless communications operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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