Santa Rosa Beach, Florida – Aug. 11, 2009 – The Children's Volunteer Health Network (CVHN), based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, is the first winner of the Fueling Good promotion offered by CITGO Petroleum Corporation.

Launched in June 2009, the program is designed to recognize and reward the efforts of people across the country who go above and beyond to provide a positive impact on the lives of others. Based on the underlying principals of solidarity and social development held by CITGO and its shareholder, PDVSA, the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Fueling Good contest invites local heroes to submit their story of doing good.  From July though November, five finalists will be selected from the entries for a monthly online vote, which will help decide the winner of gift cards worth a year’s supply of fuel from CITGO.

CVHN, the first winner of a year’s supply of gasoline, provides free health and dental care to uninsured and underinsured children using a mobile dental clinic. The entry submitted by CVHN received the most points, beating out four other finalists, to continue their work of spreading hope and health care to school-aged children across Florida’s Walton and Okaloosa counties.

“We are always watching our budget, so having a year's supply of free fuel will let us spend that money in other ways to continue our work in the community,” said Jane Bahr, a founding board member of CVHN. “Not only will our prize from CITGO enable our program to reach a wider audience across Florida’s panhandle, but the exposure generated by our involvement in Fueling Good has helped raise our profile across the country. We hope that, through this contest, we can make more people aware of the needs of uninsured and underinsured children.”

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, this month's runners up will each receive a $50 CITGO gift card. These local heroes are helping their community through a variety of efforts, including:

·         Food Drive for Kids organized by Lisa Muran of Crystal Beach, Florida collects food for a local facility that houses families with children fighting cancer.

·         Spread the Dough of Stratham, New Hampshire collects bread and distributes it to local homeless shelters.

·         Amanda Lianne Maness of Bear Creek, North Carolina lost  sight in one eye after a car accident in late 2008 and now coordinates programs for children who are visually impaired.

·         Home Runs for Hope, a program created by Zachary Stokes, encourages friends, family, and others in the community to donate money for every homerun hit by the University of South Carolina Gamecocks to the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, where Zachary receives chemotherapy.

“It’s great to recognize and give back to a local charity that does so much for people across Northwest Florida,” said Jim Burns, vice president – Tom Thumb Food Stores. “By helping to tell their story I hope that other people will be inspired to give back to their own communities. We do a lot through our locally owned CITGO operation to support people in need, such as our annual American Cancer Society Golf Tournament, Relay for Life, Children in Crisis, and the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, and we’re glad to have local partners helping to improve the lives of people in Santa Rosa Beach.”

For complete Fueling Good rules and to submit a story for a chance to win gas for a year, visit www.FuelingGood.com. Be sure to return to the site regularly for information on finalists and a chance to vote on the top participants. For additional details, follow Fueling Good on Twitter at http://twitter.com/FuelingGood2009, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CITGOFuelingGood and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/fuelinggood2009.

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