Coca-Cola North America President Honored By Jackie Robinson Foundation

March 17, 2006 edition

The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF), a not-for-profit national organization that awards college scholarships to academically gifted minority students with limited financial means, honored Coca-Cola North America President Donald R. Knauss with the 2006 ROBIE Achievement in Industry Award for his efforts to promote minority recruitment and advancement.

Dr. Walter Massey, president of Morehouse College, presented the award to Mr. Knauss on March 6 during the JRF's Annual ROBIE Awards ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) received the 2006 ROBIE Humanitarianism Award.

Founded in 1973, the Jackie Robinson Foundation instills the principles embodied by its namesake -- the first African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era -- through a comprehensive support network. JRF scholars benefit from leadership development workshops, mentoring programs and career counseling. The foundation's graduation rate is 97 percent -- the highest among comparable scholarship programs.

In October 2005, The Coca-Cola Foundation awarded a $200,000 grant to support the JRF's scholarship program and help fund four-year scholarships for deserving students. The Coca-Cola Foundation's support of the JRF dates back to 1987.