Rock the Earth Wins Jammy Award

National Environmental Advocacy Organization wins prestigious Mimi Fishman Memorial
Community Service Award

DENVER) - During the 7th Annual Jammy Awards held at the Wamu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 7th, the Colorado-based environmental organization Rock the Earth was awarded the Mimi Fishman Memorial Community Service Award. The Jammy Awards honor excellence in musical performance and recordings made by artists within the genre commonly known at "jambands." During the ceremony, Mimi Fishman Foundation Executive Director David Shulman and Jon Fishman, drummer from the rock band Phish and son to the woman whose foundation bears her name, presented the award to Marc Ross, Executive Director to Rock the Earth. Ross was joined on stage by several current members of the Rock the Earth Volunteer Staff.

"We are honored and humbled by this award," said Ross during his acceptance speech. He concluded his acceptance encouraging those concerned about the environment to not allow the results of the upcoming Presidential election to become complacent: "The one thing I do know is that regardless of who is our next President, come January 2009, our country and our planet will still continue to face very serious environmental issues that will only be solved by keeping the pressure on the government and polluters and holding them accountable for their actions."

In addition to the Mimi Fishman award, Rock the Earth was also nominated in the category of Download of the Year for the two-CD set entitled: Music for the Planet: a nugs.net benefit for Rock the Earth . Featuring live recordings by bands such as Jack Johnson, Gov't Mule, the Grateful Dead, Phish and the String Cheese Incident, all proceeds from the sale of the downloads and CDs went to support Rock the Earth's mission to "defend the planet one beat at a time." Ross co-produced the set along with nugs.net founders Jonathan Richter and Brad Serling. On-line voting by music fans determined the outcome in this category which resulted in a win for a nugs.net's archival release from Phish.

During the nearly 4 hour ceremony, awards were given out to Phish for Download of the Year, Gov't Mule for their Bonnaroo late-night Performance of the Year and Cornmeal for New Groove of the Year. In between the awards, audience members had the opportunity to witness musical performances by the Faux Five with Joan Osbourne and Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes and Grace Potter, Rose Hill Drive with Matisyahu, Galactic with Doug E. Fresh, Sharon Jones and Chali 2Na.

Rock the Earth is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, national public interest environmental advocacy organization, committed to protecting and defending America's natural resources through partnerships with the music industry and the worldwide environmental community. Rock the Earth represents those individuals and communities whose environment or natural surroundings are directly and adversely affected by the actions of others. Through partnerships with artists as diverse as Bonnie Raitt, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, and Bon Jovi, Rock the Earth educates and activates fans to pursue a vision of global sustainability and environmental responsibility. Last month, Rock the Earth announced their own annual award recipients -- winners of the 2008 Planet Defender Awards for leadership in environmental activism and sustainability. The 2008 Planet Defenders were the Dave Matthews Band in the artist category, green business guru Andrew Winston of Andrew Winston Strategies in the community leader category, and in the activist category, Karen Cragnolin, Executive Director to Asheville, North Carolina-based environmental group Riverlink.

For more information about Rock the Earth, visit www.RockTheEarth.org.