Neal McCoy Named 2005 The Home Depot Humanitarian Award Winner at 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards

Neal McCoy Named 2005 The Home Depot Humanitarian Award Winner at 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards

Fan-Voted Award Honors Artist for Charitable Work and Community Giving

ATLANTA, May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Neal McCoy was named the recipient of The Home Depot(R) Humanitarian Award at the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music(R) Awards on May 17, 2005. The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, has sponsored the fan-voted award for four years. Other nominees for the 2005 The Home Depot Humanitarian Award were Diamond Rio and Brad Paisley.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO )

The Home Depot Humanitarian Award recognizes an artist or group in the country music industry who serves others, has a generous spirit and helps build the dreams of those in need. The Home Depot Humanitarian Award recipient is honored with a KaBOOM!(R) playground build in the city of his/her choice. Past recipients are Reba McEntire, Lonestar and Martina McBride.

Twice voted "Entertainer of the Year" (TNN/Music City News), McCoy has sold more than five million albums (including three platinum and one gold) and has had five hit singles. McCoy is also dedicated to giving back to those in need. Ten years ago, McCoy and his wife, Melinda, founded the East Texas Angel Network (ETAN) which provides financial support for families of children living with terminal or life-threatening illnesses. ETAN has raised over $3 million dollars to date and has helped ease some of the financial burden confronting these families. McCoy has also participated in eight USO tours in various regions of the world that U.S. soldiers are serving.

"Neal truly embodies the spirit of The Home Depot Humanitarian Award through his charitable work and community giving," said Roger Adams, senior vice president, Marketing, The Home Depot. "The Humanitarian Award gives fans, the Academy of Country Music and The Home Depot a chance to recognize country music stars who make time to give back. All three of this year's nominees shared their time unselfishly to help others."

In 1992, The Home Depot established Team Depot, an associate volunteer program that encourages associates to participate in community service projects. Through Team Depot, partnerships with nonprofit groups and The Home Depot Foundation, the company donates millions of hours, tools and supplies to support community service projects every year. In 2004, The Home Depot completed its first annual Week of Service donating more than 260,000 hours of service in 1,600 projects in more than 1,000 communities.

The Home Depot

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2004 sales of $73.1 billion. The company employs approximately 325,000 associates and has 1,913 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company recently announced the creation of a business development operation for retail expansion into China. The Home Depot has been recognized by Fortune as the No. 1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer for 2005. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:HD) and is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 Index. HDG

Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music(R) was founded in 1964 with a mission to support, promote and enhance the advancement of the country music industry worldwide. The Academy is best known for presenting its annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which is televised live on CBS and honors excellence among the industry's brightest stars. The Academy, which is comprised of 3,800+ professional members and a newly established Associate Membership, is headquartered in Burbank, Calif. For more information on the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Academy of Country Music, please visit www.acmcountry.com .

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct nearly 800 new playgrounds and skateparks and renovate 1,300 others nationwide. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including trainings, challenge grants, publications and a free Online Project Planner(TM) for communities who wish to plan a new play space on their own. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta and Redwood City, CA. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org .

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: The Home Depot

CONTACT: Kathryn Gallagher of The Home Depot, +1-714-940-3696, or
kathryn_gallagher@homedepot.com ; or Megan McGovern of Manning Selvage & Lee,
+1-404-870-6852, or megan.mcgovern@mslpr.com

Web site: http://www.homedepot.com/
http://www.acmcountry.com/
http://www.kaboom.org/

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