IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 10, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Scantron Corporation will tabulate the vote counting process for the IOC Athletes' Commission Election being held during the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece. Two Scantron staff members will travel to Greece to manage this project at the Games in August.
"Scantron is well-known for its expertise in data collection and, with them involved, the election count has worked flawlessly," said Anita L. DeFrantz, chair, IOC Athletes' Commission Election. "The Athletes' Commission Election is one activity in which we hope all accredited Olympic athletes will participate. With Scantron involved, we have an outside professional organization with the expertise that ensures accurate results."
The role of the IOC Athletes' Commission is to serve as a link between Olympians and the IOC. At the 2004 Olympic Games, the near 10,500 participating athletes are given the opportunity to vote to elect four of their peers to represent them on the IOC Athletes' Commission. These four will serve their term as full members of the IOC. Scantron will serve as a third party to tabulate the entire vote counting process and provide the results of the election to the IOC.
"Scantron's data collection products and services are often chosen because of our ability to make data capture and management timelier, more efficient and accurate," said Mark Espinola, president of Scantron's data collection division. "We are pleased to continue our ongoing relationship with the International Olympic Committee and we think this project is a testament to the quality and reliability of our solutions and the work that we do."
Scantron's scope of work includes designing and printing the ballot forms which will be processed using Scantron's 2800 Optical Mark Read (OMR) scanners, and providing the results of the election.
A total of 32 athletes are running for election. Four of the 32 candidates will be elected by peer vote and will represent the contemporary athletes on the IOC Athletes' Commission and serve as full IOC members for a term of eight years. The results of the vote will be announced at 2 p.m. on August 26 in the Olympic Village. The newly elected IOC members will be officially introduced during the televised Closing Ceremony of the Games on August 29.
This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements." These statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of John H. Harland Company and members of its respective management, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Reference is made to the Risk Factors and Cautionary Statements in Harland's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed under the Securities Exchange Act.