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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Emily J. Carpenter-Pulskamp

Western & Southern Financial Group (513) 629-1338

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Western & Southern Financial Group Recognizes Recipient of 2009 Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins Educator of the Year Award

CINCINNATI — May 5, 2009 — Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) has announced that Angela Roddy, a consulting teacher for Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), has been named the 2009 Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins Educator of the Year.

Roddy was chosen from a group of 11 finalists, who were nominated by their peers for the award. She was recognized with a plaque and a personal check for $10,000 at a luncheon ceremony at Western & Southern’s Guilford Institute.

Western & Southern and CPS chose Roddy to receive the award in recognition for her ongoing commitment to providing a superior education to her students, as well as her mentoring role for teachers. She has served in CPS for more than 18 years in several different capacities, moving from a teaching role for students to that of a mentoring role for other teachers.

"A solid educational system is the foundation of a community’s success, and we are a proud supporter of Cincinnati Public Schools," said John F. Barrett, Western & Southern chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We are committed to help build a stronger and brighter future for Cincinnati through its children and educators. It is important for local businesses to be involved in molding our future workforce."

Western & Southern established the Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins Educator of the Year Award in 2007 to inspire and reward excellence in CPS educators. The namesake of the award, Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins, was a well-respected Cincinnati educator, former executive vice president of administration at the University of Cincinnati and former Western & Southern board member.

This distinguished annual award honors one educator who has elevated the educational process in public schools to an exceptional level through personal commitment, dedicated focus and outstanding results.

According to Mary Ronan, superintendent of CPS, the Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins Educator of the Year Award brought to the surface the depth of talent and passion among educators in CPS.

"We are so excited and pleased for Angela to be honored with this award," said Ronan. "Her tenure with Cincinnati Public Schools speaks for itself… she truly has a passion for educating students and teachers alike. Each of the educators nominated for this award is deserving of this recognition, and I congratulate them on their teaching successes."

About Western & Southern Financial Group
Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) is a Cincinnati-based diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned, managed and under our care in excess of $42 billion as of Dec. 31, 2008. A Fortune 500 company, Western & Southern has received A.M. Best’s highest rating of A++ Superior for financial strength, Standard & Poor’s AA+ rating (one of the nine highest-rated life insurance groups in the world), Fitch’s AA+ rating and Aa3 (Stable) from Moody’s. With a heritage dating to 1888, the group’s affiliates include The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company; Western-Southern Life Assurance Company; Capital Analysts Incorporated;1, 2 Columbus Life Insurance Company; Eagle Realty Group, LLC; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.;1 Fort Washington Savings Company;3 IFS Financial Services, Inc.; Integrity Life Insurance Company; The Lafayette Life Insurance Company; National Integrity Life Insurance Company; Touchstone Advisors, Inc.;1 and Touchstone Securities, Inc.2 For more information, visit www.westernsouthern.com. Western & Southern is the title sponsor of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open tennis tournaments.

¹ A registered investment advisor.
² A registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.
³ Member FDIC.
Ratings refer to the financial strength of the insurance company and not to the safety, stability or performance of any investment product.

About Cincinnati Public Schools
Cincinnati Public Schools has 58 schools spread around a 90-square-mile district and is moving forward strongly on raising student achievement inside the classroom and rebuilding/renovating its school buildings into modern learning environments. Serving approximately 34,680 students in preschool through 12th grade, Cincinnati Public Schools is Ohio’s third-largest public school district and Hamilton County’s largest. Over recent years, the school district has demonstrated continuous improvement in overall district performance, reading and math scores, graduation rate, student attendance and high school academic performance. Cincinnati Public Schools has held the Continuous Improvement rating for four years in a row.