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Marilyn Carlson Nelson admited to French Legion of Honor on Oct. 30

MINNEAPOLIS, October 31, 2006 – Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Carlson Companies, will be inducted into the French Legion of Honor, recognition reserved for outstanding achievement in public service or professional activity.

His Excellency Jean-David Levitte, the French Ambassador to the U.S., will preside over the ceremony, to be held from 4:15-5:15 p.m., Monday, Oct. 30, in the rotunda of Carlson’s corporate headquarters. It is the recipients’ choice as to how and when the acceptance ceremony is organized, and Mrs. Nelson has chosen to accept the honor in front of Carlson employees.

The recognition – Chevalier (Knight) in the French Legion d’Honneur – was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. The President of France serves as its Grand Master and personally approves each nominee for the honor. Each year only a few American receive the honor, which is given to people who have demonstrated great achievement in their field and/or who have been shown to be true friends of France.

Mrs. Nelson will join many other distinguished members in this exclusive international society, including Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, and authors Victor Hugo and Goethe.

Carlson is a leader in the hotel, restaurant, cruise, marketing and travel industries. Carlson has extensive business connections throughout France, including 16 Carlson-branded hotels; 150 Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) business travel locations, previously co-owned with Paris-based Accor; more than 320 leisure travel agencies; and cruises throughout Europe, most of them calling on French ports.

Over her career, Mrs. Nelson has served as a delegate to the White House Tourism Conference and was the national chair of the Travel Industry Association of America. She currently is vice chair of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and recently received the Icon Award – the National Business Travel Association’s highest award – for her career of leadership in the business travel industry.

Mrs. Nelson, who studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, also has been a leader in corporate social responsibility in the travel industry. Carlson Companies is a co-founder of the World Childhood Foundation, established by the Queen of Sweden, to combat child sex tourism. In addition, Carlson is the first North American company to sign an international code of conduct to end child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes.

Please Note: If you would like to cover the Ambassador’s presentation of the medal to Mrs. Nelson, please contact Sam Macalus, 763-212-2477.

Carlson Companies is a global leader in the hotel, restaurant, business and leisure travel, and marketing industries.

Among the names in the Carlson family of brands and services are: Regent International Hotels and Resorts®, Radisson Hotels & Resorts®, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Park Inn® hotels, Regent Seven Seas Cruises®, T.G.I. Friday’s® and Pick Up Stix® restaurants, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Cruise Holidays, All Aboard Travel, Cruise Specialists, Fly4less.com, Cruise Deals.com, Results Travel, Carlson Destination Marketing Services, Carlson Leisure Travel Services, SeaMaster Cruises®, SinglesCruise.com, CW Government Travel, Carlson Marketing®, Peppers & Rogers Group®, and Gold Points Reward Network®.

Based in Minneapolis, Carlson’s brands and services employ more than  170,000 people in more than 150 countries. Carlson’s 2005 systemwide sales, including franchised operations, totaled $34.4 billion.
www.carlson.com.

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