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Wachovia Agrees to $300,000 Partnership with NABA

Wachovia Corporation recently agreed to a three-year corporate partnership to help support and enhance the ongoing initiatives of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc (NABA).

"Wachovia is extremely proud to be a corporate partner with NABA," says Wachovia CFO Tom Wurtz. "This contribution is consistent with our commitment to building a diverse organization, and we trust that our funding -- along with our other outreach -- supports NABA's mission of addressing the career development and professional needs of its membership throughout the United States."

Wachovia has been recognized for its commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion by various organizations and publications, among them:

* 100 Best Companies (Working Mother magazine, 11th consecutive year)

* Top 50 Companies for Diversity (DiversityInc magazine, fourth consecutive year)

* Best Companies for Diversity (Black Enterprise)

* Tied for first place among financial services companies on the NAACP's Economic Reciprocity scorecard (measures corporate commitment to diversity)

* Score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Diversity Index

* Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation's Inaugural Leadership Award (for commitment to employing people with disabilities)

* 100 Best Corporations in North America for Developing Human Capital (Training magazine, fifth consecutive year)

"Diversity at Wachovia is a business imperative," Wurtz adds. "Aligning with our customer base, engaging our communities, and attracting and retaining talented people are critical to our success. Wachovia is committed to creating an environment where the people who work with Wachovia and the people who do business with Wachovia are treated fairly and with respect, regardless of differences."

In helping Wachovia increase its diversity recruiting, NABA counts many long-term, loyal members among the company's employee ranks. "Being a part of NABA has been a valuable and rewarding experience for me," says Mike Taylor, Vice President and Manager of Fixed Assets at Wachovia. "NABA has provided a number of leadership opportunities that have carried over to my career. I've been a chapter president and member of the Board of Directors, and I've recruited at both the national convention and regional conferences for the past 15 years."

"Wachovia's financial support will be essential to our future programming and strategic initiatives, and it demonstrates a true commitment to diversity," says NABA Executive Director Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. "The support of our corporate partners makes it possible to provide career advancement opportunities for members like Mike Taylor -- hearing that type of feedback from our members lets us know we're positively impacting not just the accounting and financial services industries, but individual lives as well."