White Castle(R) Hall of Fame Inducts Ten New Members

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle will induct the Class of 2007 into its Cravers Hall of Fame at a festive celebration. The ceremony will be held at the company's home office 555 West Goodale Street, Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m.

The Cravers Hall of Fame (CHOF) was established in 2001 to honor those loyal lovers of the square, steam-grilled hamburgers who share their stories about their devotion to the Slyder. Since that first year, White Castle has received over 5,000 entries from every U.S. state. Currently, 87 Cravers have made the grade and been inducted into the hall of fame.

Contest rules require that "the submitted story is accurate and truthful, and reflects your honest opinions, findings, beliefs, and experiences. Any entries judged not to be original will be disqualified." Additional criteria include originality, creative presentation, appropriate use of the product, and overall demonstration of the 'Crave'.

The 2007 winners to be inducted include: Edward Lerner of Chatsworth, CA; Steven Scott of Florence, KY; Stacie Potter of Columbus, OH; Chris Davis of Holly Hill, FL; Ryan Connors and Brian Kurella of Albany, NY; Joe Astrouski of Belleville, IL, Dan and Betsy Nally of Westwood, MA and Gary Webb from Allen Park, MI.

The following are summaries of the winning entries:

Edward Lerner, Chatsworth, CA-Edward was on a flight from the east coast heading back to California. On a layover in Chicago, he hailed a cab outside O'Hare Airport for a trip to the nearest White Castle. Edward bought lunch for himself and his grateful cabbie for less than $10. According to Edward, "Slyders rule the universe!"

Steven Scott, Florence, KY-A professional actor and Cincinnati native, Steven was working at a theater in Denali, Alaska. He says he survived the six month gig and eased his homesickness with frozen Slyders from the employee vending machine. Steven made friends with the kitchen staff to ensure that he'd have constant access to his frozen favorites.

Stacie Potter, Columbus, OH-Stacy recounted a moving story about her childhood memories involving her mother "Bubba" and their strong affection for White Castles. A few years ago, Stacie's mother passed away a week before Valentine's Day.

To help her with the hardship of her mother's death, her husband surprised her this year with a special Valentine's dinner at White Castle. Stacie knew her mother had a hand in their "wonderful Valentine evening."

Chris Davis, Holly Hill, Fl-Inspired by the movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Chris Davis (he'd never had a Castle before) and his buddies traveled over 700 miles to the nearest Castle-in Nashville, TN. Chris took extra Slyders back home to friends who he reports are now hooked just like him. Since his initial trip in 2004, Chris has traveled over 3200 miles and sampled every item on the menu to satisfy his 'Crave'.

Ryan Connors & Brian Kurella, Albany, NY-While attending college, Ryan and Brian started the tradition of visiting their local White Castle the night before an exam. This seemed to pay off as they always received a better grade than they expected. Upon graduation, Brian went to work and Ryan entered law school and they were unable continue their tradition. The night before his Constitutional Law exam, Ryan was worried because this would be the first time he'd be taking a final without White Castles. Then, his doorbell rang and he found Brian at the door with a Crave Case, a sack of Tabasco Chicken Rings, and a sack of fries. Needless to say, Ryan did well on his exam the next morning.

Joe Astrouski, Belleville, IL-As a member of his high school's pit orchestra, Joe helped carry on the tradition of bringing White Castle food (prohibited by the school) to musical rehearsals. When the school moved to a new campus, the teacher directing the play laid down the law-no food or non- water drinks, and no White Castles! Not to worry. When White Castle Night came around, the pit crew entered the orchestra pit carrying two big tuba cases that contained nine Crave Cases. The play did not feature a tuba, but no one seemed to notice ... or care. After enjoying their smuggled in Slyders, Joe and his musical Cravers built a model Castle with the left over boxes.

Dan & Betsy Nally, Westwood, MA-In 1996, just before Thanksgiving, Dan and Betsy saw a TV news segment showing Westwood residents were struggling to find Thanksgiving turkeys due to a shortage of nearly 5000 birds in the community. Dan, Betsy and their two children, ages 9 and 6 at the time, went door-to-door looking to improve the shortage situation. Their efforts generated dozens of turkeys and they have continued their efforts each year since '96. White Castle, inspired by the couple's initiative, selected their non-profit organization to receive all proceeds from the sale of their recipe book, "By the Sackful: A scrapbook with recipes from 85 years of White Castle craving" (2005). White Castle is pleased to welcome Dan and Betsy into the Craver's Hall of Fame.

Gary Webb, Allen Park, MI-Gary was a great friend of White Castle. Every holiday, he would send us a gift. From hand-crafted Easter bunnies carrying baskets of Slyders to Santa Crave, to his soon-to-be famous White Castle Mock Turkey for Thanksgiving, Gary was the Craver who kept on giving. Unfortunately, Gary passed away earlier this year before he could be officially inducted into the CHOF. True to his crave 'til the end, Gary was buried in his favorite orange White Castle shirt. We now welcome Gary into the Cravers Hall of Fame.

White Castle owns and operates 401 restaurants in the Midwest and Northeast and is considered to be the first fast food hamburger restaurant. The company was established in Wichita, Kansas in 1921.