FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         Contact: Melissa Squarcia

                                                                                             610-363-1315 ext. 226

                                                                                             msquarcia@catholicleaders.org

FOUNDER OF FOCUS, CURTIS MARTIN RECEIVES 2007 AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP

EXTON, PA, November 16, 2007 – The Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) and over 400 individuals from around the country gathered to honor Curtis Martin as one of four Outstanding Catholic Leaders. 

Priests, bishops, friends of CLI and family members of the honorees celebrated Catholic leadership on Friday, November 9, 2007 with a dinner and awards reception in Drexel Hill, PA.  Joining Curtis Martin were current FOCUS Missionaries for Temple University: Chase Pepper, Margot Capocci, Katherine Dumais and Brad Stevens. Presenting the prestigious 2007 Award for Outstanding Catholic Leadership to Martin were former FOCUS Missionaries, Megan and Joseph Wurtz of Front Royal, VA.

            Catholic Leadership Institute also recognized Dr. Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel Vineyard Ministries; Rev. William Byron, SJ, President of St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and The Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters (The Pink Sisters) a cloistered, contemplative congregation of nuns devoted to perpetual adoration before the Eucharist.

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            “As a father and missionary Curtis Martin has taken his God-given gifts and talents and gone out and transformed the world and in turn become an outstanding Catholic leader and role model.  He is a true testament to the peace, love and joy that comes from living a life devoted to the Lord,” said Timothy C. Flanagan, founder and chairman of Catholic Leadership Institute.

 CLI developed the Awards for Outstanding Catholic Leadership in 2000 to recognize people in the Catholic Church whose exemplary leadership in the family, the workplace, the community and the Church has been inspired by their Catholic faith. 

Catholic Leadership Institute

                Founded in 1991, the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) is an organization of lay Catholics whose mission is to build Catholic leaders for today and tomorrow. To date, CLI has helped over 9,000 priests, seminarians, lay and religious leaders, young adult and campus leaders, to discover their mission in life and fulfill their God-given potential.  Catholic Leadership Institute combines the very best in leadership and personal development programs from academia and the corporate world with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.

                More information about the Catholic Leadership Institute is available by calling 610.363.1315 or by visiting the Institute’s website, www.catholicleaders.org.

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