Toshiba Classic

Contact: Rachel Quizon
Hoag Hospital
949/764-1478

Andrea Winter
Hoag Hospital
949/764-6939

2008 Toshiba Classic Kicks Off Tournament Season With a Focus on Community

"Shot from the Top" competition and Toshiba Scholarship Fund program revamped for greater community impact

Newport Beach, Calif., January 17, 2008 - With the 2008 tournament just months away, the Toshiba Classic is already in full swing on another level-its community programs. With support from the laptop experts, Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., this year's annual "Shot from the Top" competition will provide Orange County high schools with more than $150,000 worth of laptop computers, the first of which were awarded during Monday's qualifying event. The Shot from the Top competition and the Toshiba Scholarship Fund aim to highlight the achievements of Orange County students and support their continued success at the high school level and in the future.

Shot from the Top competition On Monday, 30 high school golf athletes took their shot at qualifying for the chance to win up to 25 Toshiba laptop computers for their schools. 15 schools were represented by co-ed teams of two that competed in a "closest-to-the-pin" contest, hitting from 100 yards away on the 18th hole of the Newport Beach Country Club, the site of the Toshiba Classic.

Eight high schools-Beckman, El Toro, Foothill, Laguna Hills, Newport Harbor, Trabuco Hills, University and Woodbridge-advanced to the final round of the competition to be held March 4. Seven other high school teams that participated each left the competition with five Toshiba laptops for their respective schools: Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Estancia, Irvine, Mission Viejo, San Clemente and Tustin. "The qualifying round is a new element that we added this year to the annual Shot from the Top competition in order to get more high schools involved and, in turn, give more back," said Mark Simons, vice president and general manager, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information System, Inc. "It's great to see student athletes committed to their sport taking on the competition to win for their schools, and Toshiba is glad to be able to support both athletic and academic development in the community."

The Shot from the Top final event will be held on March 4 during the 2008 Toshiba Classic and will include PGA Champions Tour professionals competing with the eight finalist teams, hitting down to the 2nd green of Newport Beach Country Club from the top of the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa. Each of the final eight high schools will receive between eight and 25 laptop computers for their respective schools.

The Toshiba Classic Scholarship Fund The Toshiba Classic continues its tradition of recognizing some of Orange County's best and brightest students with the Toshiba Classic Scholarship Fund. Funded by proceeds from the Toshiba Classic, the scholarship fund is a joint effort of the tournament sponsor, Toshiba Digital Products Division and Hoag Hospital Foundation.

In the past, the Toshiba Classic Scholarship Fund awarded 12 Orange County high school seniors $1,000 scholarships and a Toshiba laptop computer. This year, the program has revised its nomination process and increased the amount of financial assistance. The 12 Orange County high schools now select their own candidates for the semi-final round. The Toshiba Classic scholarship panel will interview all semi-finalists and determine two finalists based on multiple considerations including academic achievement, financial need and extracurricular activities. The finalists will each receive a $10,000 scholarship in addition to the Toshiba laptops given to all semi-finalists.

"Each year, Toshiba has the distinct pleasure of recognizing an exemplary group of students who have achieved their maximum potential in both the classroom and the community," said Simons. "Orange County consists of many strong and qualified scholarship candidates, which makes identifying 12 semi-finalist candidates complicated and narrowing the field to two $10,000 finalists even more difficult, but definitely rewarding. Toshiba takes pride in knowing that we are able to make an impact in students' lives and contribute to their future success."

Over the past eight years, the Toshiba Classic Scholarship Fund has donated a total of $149,000 in scholarships and 86 computers to outstanding Orange County students.

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS)
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including industry leading portable computers; projectors; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and associated applications. TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, which is a global leader in high technology and integrated manufacturing of electrical and electronic components, products and systems, as well as major infrastructure systems. Toshiba has more than 191,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of over US $60 billion (FY2006). For more information on Toshiba's leading innovations, visit the company's Web site at www.toshiba.com.

About the Toshiba Classic
Hoag Hospital Foundation produces the annual Toshiba Classic. During the last ten years, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $10 million for charity, the most on the Champions Tour. In the PGA Champions Tour's 29-year history, only nine out of more than 600 tournaments have raised $1 million in net proceeds from an event in a single year. For more information, please call 949/660-1001 or visit www.toshibaclassic.com.

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