FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 16, 2008

For more information:
Moxley Carmichael
(865) 544-0088

PILOT CELEBRITY PUMPERS EVENT ANOTHER BANNER YEAR: CAMPAIGN RAISES NEARLY $58,000 FOR UNITED WAY

In only three days, “Pilot Celebrity Pumpers” raised $57,850 for United Way of Greater Knoxville, another fundraising record for the annual campaign.

The event - held at all Knox County Pilot locations on Oct. 13-15 - featured more than 70 local officials and media personalities, who pumped gas and greeted customers to raise funds for the 2008 United Way of Greater Knoxville campaign. During the three-day event, Pilot donated five cents for every gallon of gasoline sold and 10 percent of all in-store sales to United Way.

“We are pleased to support the United Way, and we appreciate our many customers who stopped by our stores and made this donation possible,” said Pilot Travel Centers President and CEO Jimmy Haslam. “We also applaud our celebrity pumpers. They are busy individuals, but they still made time in their schedules to support this worthy cause.”

This year’s celebrity pumpers included city, county, state and federal officials as well as on-air personalities from WBIR, WATE, WVLT, Citadel Communications and Journal Broadcast Group. Also pumping were Bob Kesling and Tim Priest from The Vol Network; Charlie Daniel, Terry Morrow and Sam Venable columnists from the News Sentinel; Mintha Roach, United Way of Greater Knoxville Campaign Chair and KUB CEO and Jim Haslam, founder and chairman of the board of Pilot Corporation.

Pilot Celebrity Pumpers started in 1995. This community-wide program is United Way of Greater Knoxville’s single largest fundraising event and a highlight of its campaign each year.

“I had the privilege of serving as a celebrity pumper this year, and I saw firsthand how much this campaign means to the community,” said United Way 2008 Campaign Chair Mintha Roach. “My thanks go to Pilot for sponsoring this event and to the many celebrity pumpers and Pilot customers for helping make a positive difference in our community.”

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot is the largest operator of travel centers in the U.S. with more than 300 locations in 41 states and in Canada. Pilot is on pace for $16 billion in revenues for 2008.

For more information about Pilot Travel Centers, visit http://www.pilottravelcenters.com.

United Way of Greater Knoxville is a local, independent organization dedicated to improving lives by building a better community. In partnership with 50 agencies, local business, community leaders and ordinary citizens, United Way tackles issues that matter most. By working together, United Way provides a safety net of services addressing Knoxville's most basic needs while working toward lasting change. For more information, please visit http://www.unitedwayknox.org.

Click here to see the photos.

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