College Education Now on the Books for 50 Colonel's Scholars Recipients

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- This fall, the first class of Colonel's Scholars will have the opportunity to head off to college campuses around the country, thanks to scholarships provided by KFC's Colonel's Kids(R) Foundation.

Starting in February 2006, high school seniors who demonstrated their success in the classroom and significant financial need were invited to submit online applications and essays for consideration in the Colonel's Scholars Program. An inaugural class of 50 was selected from a pool of more than 100,000 applicants from across the country. This final group of students will each be eligible to receive up to $20,000 over four years to pursue a bachelor's degree at an accredited public university within their home state.

The Colonel's Scholars represent a diverse group of students from various backgrounds. One Scholar is the first English-speaking person in their family, who also cares for aging grandparents. Another Scholar has lived on their own since becoming emancipated from their parents at age 17.

Colonel's Scholars is a new, annual program of KFC's Colonel's Kids Foundation, an independent charity supported by KFC, its employees and franchisees. Its mission is to empower students to improve their lives with scholarship resources.

"KFC is honored and excited to help support these deserving students' dreams and aspirations, and give them the chance to improve their lives by receiving a college education," says Gregg Dedrick, president of KFC. "We look forward to hearing their success stories in the future and invite current high school seniors to apply for next year's scholarships."

For more information on Colonel's Scholars and Colonel's Kids, visit http://www.kfc.com/ or http://www.kfcscholars.org/ .

About KFC

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in Original Recipe(R), Extra Crispy(TM) and Colonel's Crispy Strips(R) with home-style sides, Honey BBQ Wings, and freshly made chicken sandwiches. There are more than 13,000 KFC outlets in more than 80 countries and territories around the world, serving some eight million customers each day. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky.

About Colonel's Scholars

Colonel's Scholars is a program of KFC's Colonel's Kids Charity, an independent entity funded by donations from KFC, its employees, franchisees and KFC patrons, established as a non-profit charity in 1999. Its mission is to provide high school students scholarship resources to attend post-secondary schools within their states of residence.

Colonel's Scholars Class of 2006 Samah Abukhodeir, Lake Wales, Fla. - Florida State University Amanda Adams, Wichita, Kan. - Wichita State University Sara Amini, Houston, Texas - University of Texas Kanita Beba, Saint Petersburg, Fla. - University of Florida Christina Coutu, El Nido, Calif. - University of California Tavis Dickerson-Young, Everett, Wash. - University of Washington Ruth Diroff, Nashville, Tenn. - University of Tennessee Sharonda Drew, Bogota, N.J. - Kean University Everett Duke, Phenix City, Ala. - Auburn University Tracy Elsen, Hecla, S.D. - University of South Dakota David Fulton, New Meadows, ID - Boise State University Paul Galvan, Yuma, Ariz. - University of Arizona Mario Haynes, Ellaville, Ga. - University of Georgia Krystine Hoefer, Elgin, Neb. - University of Nebraska Tahamara Ibarra, Purdy, Mo. - Truman State University Antommeshir Jackson, Jackson, Miss. - Mississippi University for Women Dnesha Johnson, Alexandria, La. - University of Louisiana Katherine Johnston, Chattanooga, Tenn. - University of Tennessee Katarina Karac, Skokie, Ill. - Oakton Community College Jessica Krueger, Monroe, Mich. - Monroe County Community College Truc Lam, Houston, Texas - University of Houston Sylvia Leung, San Mateo, Calif. - University of California Gina Ludtke, Longview, Wash. - University of Washington Tuong-Vi Mai-Tran, Houston, Texas - University of Texas Megan Marino, Ashwood, Ore. - Eastern Oregon University Amber McSpadden, Centerville, Va. - Northern Virginia Community College Melissa Millard, Oak Creek, Wisc. - University of Wisconsin Malcolm Neal, Detroit, Mich. - Michigan State University Carlos Negron, Middletown, Conn. - Western Connecticut State University Dung Nguyen, Anaheim, Calif. - University of California Charles Nichols, Seneca, S.C. - Clemson University John O'Connor, Westminster, S.C. - Clemson University Mckenna Oney, Ogden, UT - Weber State University Kelly Pemberton, Knoxville, Tenn. - University of Tennessee Susan Pin, Farmville, Va. - Virginia Polytechnic Institute State University Naomi Pollica, Brattleboro, Vt. - University of Vermont Nathan Reaver, Millersport, OH - University of Toledo Loretta Rodriguez, Miami, Fla. - University of Florida Brittney Shaw, Louisville, Ky. - University of Louisville Michael Smith, Granite Falls, N.C. - University of North Carolina Brittany Smith, Houston, Texas - Sam Houston State University Darcy Thomas, Centerville, IA - University of Northern Iowa Lisa Valera, San Juan, Texas - Texas A&M University Stephanie Vandernoot, Chestertown, NY - SUNY College at Brockport Laura Varnier, Mount Airy, N.C. - University of North Carolina Victoria Walters, Waynesville, OH - University of Cincinnati Amber West, Gillett, Ark. - Henderson State University Cortez Wilson, Meridian, Miss. - University of Southern Mississippi Delenie Wong, Alameda, Calif. - University of California Larnard Young, Calumet City, Ill. - University of Illinois