Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Office Depot Reward 2003 National Small-Business Persons of the Year

Updated on Thursday, September 18th, 2003 at 12:00 am

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Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Office Depot Reward 2003 National Small-Business Persons of the Year

Premier Pet Products and Its Charity of Choice to Receive Technology Gift
Packages

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Microsoft Corp.
(Nasdaq: MSFT), HP and Office Depot Inc. awarded the owners of Premier Pet
Products a $50,000 donation of technology and services to the charity of its
choice for being named the National Small-Business Person of the Year today at
the 2003 National Entrepreneurial Conference and Expo. In addition, the
Richmond, Va.-based company will receive its own technology gift valued at
$18,000.

"Premier Pet Products is a wonderful example of the dedication and
innovation of today’s small businesses and their employees," said Nigel
Burton, general manager of the U.S. Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners
group at Microsoft. "Every day at Microsoft, we strive to deliver the tools
that help make it easier to run a small business and increase success.
Microsoft is proud to join with HP and Office Depot in recognizing the
importance of small businesses to our nation’s economy. This grant is
representative of our companies’ ongoing commitment to support these
entrepreneurs."

Sharon E. Bennett and Evan C. Wooten, co-owners of Premier Pet Products,
were ceremoniously awarded the nation’s top small-business prize by the U.S.
Small Business Administration after developing their business of manufacturing
collars, leashes and other specialty pet products from a homespun operation
into a thriving company with more than $10 million in annual sales.

Premier Pet Products’ designated charity will receive a technology package
that includes $20,000 in Microsoft(R) business productivity software and
wireless products; $15,000 in hardware from HP — including three computers,
two laptops, one server and one laser printer; and a $5,000 Office Depot gift
card toward merchandise of their choice. The designated charity will also
receive $5,000 in support and services from a local technology provider and a
$5,000 cash grant.

In addition to the charitable donation, Premier Pet Products will itself
receive $15,000 in Microsoft business productivity software, a Tablet PC from
HP and a $1,000 Office Depot gift card redeemable at any Office Depot retail
store.

About the Microsoft U.S. Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Group

The Microsoft U.S. Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners group works to
help ensure that small-business owners have the tools, technology and support
they need to reach their business potential in today’s competitive
marketplace. More information is available on the Web at
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/ .

About Office Depot

With annual sales of nearly $13 billion, no one sells more office products
to more customers in more countries than Office Depot.
Operating under the Office Depot, Viking Office Products, Viking Direct,
4Sure.com and Guilbert brand names, Office Depot is an industry leader in
every distribution channel — from retail stores and contract delivery to
catalogs and e-commerce.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services
and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company
offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people
through great software — any time, any place and on any device.