Topinka Presents $10,000 Scholarship

              For Immediate Release Carolyn Barry Frost
April 13, 2001 312/814-2997
TOPINKA PRESENTS $10,000 SCHOLARSHIP
Normal, Illinois, -- Illinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka presented a check
for $10,000 to Danvers, Illinois resident Lori Amberg, the winner of a college scholarship
contest sponsored by Pepsi-Cola Company and Kroger, at a press conference today in
Normal, Illinois.
The scholarship money will be invested into an account in Amberg’s name with
the Illinois State Treasurer’s Bright Start College Savings Program, which offers
education savings accounts with tax benefits to help families pay higher education
expenses.
“Bright Start is a great way to help secure the financial resources necessary for
our children to achieve their higher education goals and dreams,” said Topinka. “I am
thankful to the Pepsi-Cola Company and Kroger for sponsoring this scholarship and
encouraging families to start saving ahead for their children’s education.”
Amberg, whose daughter is currently a freshman at Eureka College, plans to use
the scholarship money to help pay her daughter’s tuition.
“Preparing for a child’s college education is never an easy task,” said Danielle
Vona, Group Customer Marketing Manager for Pepsi-Cola Company. “By partnering
with Kroger and Bright Start, we hope to ease the burden, for selected winners, of
planning for a successful future.”
“The Kroger Company is excited to present this $10,000 Scholarship prize with
Pepsi-Cola. We continue to partner with our suppliers to encourage educational
opportunities in our local communities,” said Bill Coco, Consumer Advocate for the
Kroger Company.
-30-
From the Office of State Treasurer JUDY BAAR TOPINKA