Jim and Cathy Orr

August 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Tom Rosenberger, APR, Communications Department
(513) 569-5260

CONTACT: Cindy Starr, MSJ
Communications Department
(513) 569-5321

For details regarding
Sunflower Revolution IV  Gala,
Symposium and Bike ride visit:
www.SunflowerRev.org

Cathy and Jim Orr to be distinguished honorees at Sunflower Revolution benefit for Parkinson’s disease research

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Cincinnati business leader Jim Orr and his wife, Cathy, will be honored at the Sunflower Revolution IV gala dinner on Sept. 7 at the Westin Cincinnati downtown. Former Tour de France cyclist Davis Phinney, whose Boulder, Colorado-based Davis Phinney Foundation is co-hosting the gala with the University Hospital Foundation, will present the Orrs with the Every Victory Counts award for their leadership in the search for a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Phinney, who is 48, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 40.

The Sunflower Revolution supports Parkinson’s disease research and wellness programs at The Neuroscience Institute at University Hospital and the University of Cincinnati. Jim Orr chaired the Sunflower Revolution’s Corporate Steering Committee in 2006, helping the event raise a record $300,000.

Orr recently stepped down as CEO of Convergys and will retire from his role as Chairman of the Board later this year. He and his wife, Cathy, will remain involved in the Cincinnati community. They are now in the process of establishing the Cathy and Jim Orr Family Foundation to support their philanthropic interests.

The Orrs, both natives of Philadelphia, lived in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut during Jim Orr’s initial years with Procter & Gamble. They moved to Cincinnati with P&G in 1976. After 21 years with the company, Orr joined Cincinnati Bell in 1988, working in a new business that had $3 million in revenue at that time. That business grew into the Convergys Corporation, which today has revenues approaching $3 billion.

The Orrs have generously given their time and resources in support of many Cincinnati institutions, including:

• United Way
• The Fine Arts Fund
• The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
• Bridges for a Just Community (formerly NCCJ)
• Family Service of the Cincinnati Area
• Friends of the Children
• The Sunflower Revolution

The Sunflower gala will be chaired by Joseph Broderick, M.D., Research Director of The Neuroscience Institute, and Rob Braun, News Anchor at Local 12. Entertainment will be provided by the Danny Manning & Paul Hawthorne Musical Ensemble.

A free educational Symposium & Expo for physicians, patients, and caregivers will be held Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Westin. The event is a project of The Neuroscience Institute and the Mayfield Clinic. The annual Sunflower bike rides will take place at 7:30 a.m. (100k) and 9 a.m. (40k and 10k) on Sept. 9 in Loveland. Registration for both the symposium and the bike ride is available online at www.SunflowerRev.org.

The Neuroscience Institute, a regional center of excellence at University Hospital and the University of Cincinnati, is dedicated to patient care, research, education, and the development of new treatments for stroke, brain and spinal tumors, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, trauma, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The Mayfield Clinic, which is affiliated with UC’s Department of Neurosurgery, includes 21 neurosurgeons and treats 20,000 patients from 35 states and a dozen countries in a typical year. Mayfield's neurosurgeons are active participants in important clinical trials and have pioneered surgical procedures and instrumentation that have revolutionized the medical art of neurosurgery for brain tumors and neurovascular diseases and disorders.