25th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast

25^th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 11, 2006

CONTACT:

Pam Hurley, Kellogg Foundation

269.969.2142

Lisa Brown, Co-Chair

(h) 269.968.2020 (cell) 269.275.645

Artwork Depicting 9/11 Attacks to be Exhibited at
the 25th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast

www.RickHerter.com

Battle Creek, Mich. - An original U.S. Air Force Commissioned painting depicting the 9/11 attacks will be on display at this year's 25th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast on May 9, 2006. Kalamazoo resident and artist Rick Herter will display his painting entitled "First Pass, Defenders over Washington," which depicts the first F-16 fighter jet dispatched to the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks. The painting, along with another illustrating the attacks on the World Trade Center, was commissioned by the U.S. Airforce to hang in a prominent location in the Pentagon.

Retired Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell and his wife Mel are this year's featured speakers for the 25th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast on May 9, 2006. Birdwell was in the Pentagon at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks and was badly burned. The Birdwell's devotion to God and each other helped them come through the traumatic event with their faith intact. The theme of this year's Prayer Breakfast is "God's Abundant Grace."

The 25th Annual Community Prayer Breakfast will be held Tuesday, May 9, 2006 from 7:25 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. Breakfast tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased by calling (269) 969-2120.

"When Mr. Herter learned that Retired Lieutenant Colonel Birdwell would be speaking at the Prayer Breakfast, he generously offered to display his painting depicting the attack on the Pentagon," said Dr. David Brown, who along with his wife Lisa Brown, is co-chairing this year's Prayer Breakfast. "Now people who attend the breakfast will not only have the opportunity to hear Lt. Col. Birdwell and his wife Mel, but they will also be able to see a truly historic painting."

Rick Herter has been a participating artist in the Air Force Art Program since 1987 and was chosen out of more than 100 artists in the program to create the historic 9/11 paintings for the Air Force. Over ten months, he researched the paintings by reviewing many photographs and video and talking with the pilots who flew the first missions to the Pentagon and World Trade Center. On September 4, 2002, the paintings where officially unveiled and hung prominently in the Pentagon for three years.

Herter was born in southwest Michigan and graduated from Spring Arbor College in 1984. His work has hung in numerous private and public collections worldwide, including the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Air Force Academy, the U.S. Navy and the Pentagon. His list of clients includes the Boeing Company, Rolls Royce, G.E. Aerospace, Delta Air Lines and UPS. Besides the U.S. Defense Department, his work has been commissioned for the armed forces of Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Herter's latest project was the completion of the world's largest indoor mural, which put the artist in the Guiness Book of World Records. The mural, located at the AIR ZOO in Kalamazoo, Michigan, measures 32' high by 900' long and tells the story of flight.

Since its beginning in 1982 by Dr. Russell Mawby and Dr. Paul Gieser, the Community Prayer Breakfast has encouraged all participants to speak and pray in a way that is true to their personal beliefs. It is asked that those attending use this opportunity to listen to individuals whose beliefs might be different from their own to gain understanding and an appreciation of the participant's faith.

While the ticket cost has remained at $10 per person for the entire 25 years of the Prayer Breakfast, the actual cost per person has nearly doubled. Those wishing to make a tax-deductible contribution to help underwrite the event costs and provide an opportunity for area high school students to attend at no cost may send a check payable to BCCF/Community Prayer Breakfast to: The Community Prayer Breakfast, PO Box 4363, Battle Creek, MI 49016-4363. Those who donate $200 or more will receive two tickets to a reception in honor of the Birdwells at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation the evening prior to the breakfast.