Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) Kicks Off Chrysler Financial Sponsored Tour on Financial Empowerment in Detroit

Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) Kicks Off Chrysler Financial Sponsored Tour on Financial Empowerment in Detroit

Standing Room Only Audience Welcomes Eminem, Lil Jon, Reverend Run, Master P, Common, Fantasia, Swift, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, the D.O.C. and NBA Star Jason Richardson, Joined by Russell Simmons, Financial Experts from Chrysler Financial and New York Times' Best-selling Author Suze Orman

DETROIT, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment Tour, recently in Detroit, filled the elegant Max M. Fisher Music Hall to its 2000 seat capacity. For the first time on one stage, leading financial experts and hip-hop stars joined together to teach the hip-hop generation how to "Get Your Money Right." The star-studded Summit featured Eminem, Lil Jon, Master P, Reverend Run, Common, "American Idol" winner Fantasia, D12's Swift, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, the legendary D.O.C. and NBA slam-dunk champion Jason Richardson alongside executives and financial experts from Chrysler Financial and New York Times' best-selling author on personal finance, Suze Orman. Young people sat in the audience and stood in the aisles in rapt attention as the panelists shared valuable information on basic finances and how to avoid the pitfalls of making difficult decisions. Topics like understanding FICO credit scores, asset and wealth management, auto financing, home ownership and entrepreneurship were explored and young people took away with them a Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) booklet explaining the tools of financial planning, as well as Suze Orman's best-seller The Money Book For The Young, Fabulous, And Broke.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050519/NYTH142 )

HSAN/CEO Dr. Benjamin Chavis and WJLB FM98 DJ MC Serch moderated the Detroit Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment. HSAN Chairman Russell Simmons, title sponsor Chrysler Financial Vice President William F. Jones, Jr. and Anheuser-Busch Director of Sales and Community Affairs Miranda Mack McKenzie addressed the capacity crowd, laying the groundwork for the day's program. U.S. Senator of Michigan, Debbie Stabenow kicked-off the days events in support of financial literacy and Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick emphasized the importance of financial empowerment. Suze Orman delivered a Keynote Address that openly stated the challenges participants faced when it came to their finances and building a solid financial foundation for their future.

Early in the program, the HSAN presented Ralph Gilles with a National Achievement Award. Gilles is the Award-winning designer of the Chrysler 300, the car that exploded onto the marketplace last year and has won multiple car of the year honors.

Different artists will join the Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment National Tour in the following major cities: June 7- Washington, D.C.; July 15-Miami, Fla.; August 20-St. Louis, Mo.; September 10 - Kansas City, Mo.; September 17-Los Angeles, Calif.

The title sponsor of the Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment Tour is Chrysler Financial. The presenting sponsor is Anheuser-Busch, Inc. The Detroit media partner was Clear Channel Radio's WJLB FM98.

About DaimlerChrysler Services North America LLC

The company provides brand-specific financing for automotive dealers' inventories and their retail consumers and does business as Mercedes-Benz Credit and Chrysler Financial. As DaimlerChrysler Services Truck Finance it also finances commercial vehicles for affiliate products such as Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star. The company serves as the headquarters for operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America and Puerto Rico and has more than 5,800 employees who manage a portfolio of more than $95 billion with nearly five million contracts. DaimlerChrysler Services North America is a member of the DaimlerChrysler Financial Services group of companies. This group is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and operates in 39 countries with an employee base exceeding 10,800 and a global portfolio of approximately $139 billion. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services group is one of the leading financial services entities worldwide. For more information on DaimlerChrysler Services in the Americas visit http://www.daimlerchryslerservices.com/na.

About Anheuser-Busch

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch Cos., Inc. is the leading American brewer holding 50 percent of the U.S. beer market. The company is American- owned and brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light Anheuser-Busch ranked first in the U.S. beverage industry in Fortune magazine's 2005 "America's Most Admired Companies" and in the top 30 on Fortune's 2005 "Global Most Admired Companies" list. The company is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is the world's largest recycler of aluminum beverage containers. For more information, visit http://www.anheuser-busch.com/ or http://www.africanamericanbud.com/.

About Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

HSAN is a non-profit, non-partisan national coalition of artists, entertainment industry leaders, education advocates, civil rights proponents and youth leaders united in the belief that the "hip-hop" phenomena is an enormously influential agent for positive social change which must be responsibly and pro-actively utilized to fight the war on poverty and injustice. For additional information on HSAN, go to http://www.hsan.org/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050519/NYTH142
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: DaimlerChrysler Services North America; Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

CONTACT: Jody L. Miller, jody@jlmpr.com, Ellen Zoe Golden,
ellenzoe@aol.com, both of JLM PR, Inc., +1-212-431-5227; Amber Paauwe,
Chrysler Financial, +1-248-427-3126, or cell, +1-248-535-0210,
arp11@daimlerchrysler.com; Mark Hall, for Suze Orman, +1-786-281-7007,
markh@ego-east.com

Web site: http://www.daimlerchryslerservices.com/na
http://www.anheuser-busch.com/
http://www.africanamericanbud.com/
http://www.hsan.org/

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Profile: intent