The AT&T Foundation announced today that for the second year in a row it is donating $25,000 to become a major sponsor of the Marine Corps Marathon. In addition, for the third straight year, the company will donate the use of a specially-equipped van so race participants and spectators can make free long distance calls.

AT&T's donation was made to the Marine Corps Marathon Ad Hoc Publicity Committee, Inc., the non-profit group that supports the Marathon.

"This race is a very special event and we're proud to be associated with it," said Steve D'Lugos, sales center vice president for AT&T Government Solutions, the Vienna, VA.-based unit of AT&T that serves the federal government. "The Marine Corps does a tremendous job every year in organizing the marathon and we're glad to help. We also know that that many runners look forward to making a free long distance call when they finish."

D'Lugos said one of AT&T's Emergency Communications Vehicles, a specially-equipped van that was one of several deployed to the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Katrina to provide satellite-based phone calling for emergency workers, will be set up near the finish line for use by runners and spectators.

"It's nice to be able to count on AT&T again this year to support the race with dollars and free calling," said Rick Nealis, the race director. "The race couldn't happen without corporate support and we're very grateful to AT&T."

AT&T Government Solutions, headquartered in Vienna, VA, is a long-standing, trusted source of information technology solutions for the federal government, integrating unmatched network resources and professional service expertise with innovative technologies from AT&T Labs and industry-leading partners. Best known for network leadership in voice, data, video, and managed services, AT&T Government Solutions is a proven solutions integrator, with professional service expertise in areas such as enterprise architecture, business transformation, knowledge management, training, program management, systems engineering and security.