Bell Atlantic Names Bill Roberts State President

Bell Atlantic Names Bill Roberts State President

Assumes Overall Responsibility for Maryland; Replaces Sherry Bellamy, Who Becomes VP and Associate General Counsel for Verizon

June 29, 2000

BALTIMORE - Bell Atlantic, soon to complete its merger with GTE Corporation and become Verizon Communications, has selected William R. Roberts to become president of its Maryland service area, succeeding Sherry F. Bellamy who has been named vice president and associate general counsel for the new Verizon. She will be responsible for regulatory matters in all East Coast states. The moves are effective upon completion of the Bell Atlantic-GTE merger.

As state president Roberts assumes overall responsibility for all corporate interests for the company in Maryland.

"Bill is a highly effective leader in our business," said Geoff Gould, who has been named senior vice president for state and local relations at Verizon. "For more than 20 years he has applied his leadership skills to bring about positive change in the communities served by Bell Atlantic. Bill is the ideal public policy leader for our business in Maryland."

Roberts began his career with C&P Telephone Company of Washington in 1980 and has held a number of key positions in operations, human resources, marketing, public affairs and government relations. He has served as director for Bell Atlantic government relations for the past three years.

In 1999 Roberts was a recipient of Bell Atlantic's prestigious "Leaders in Excellence Award" for his service to the community.

He serves as Chairman of the Board for the African Continuum Theatre Company and Chairman Emeritus and founding member of the Far Southeast/Southwest Elderly Consortium. He holds a number of other positions on boards, including Corporate Advisory Board member of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Organization of Chinese Americans and is past chairman of the corporate advisory board for The League of United Latin American Citizens.

Roberts epitomizes the volunteer ethic of Bell Atlantic employees. He has worked with City at Peace - an organization that teaches conflict resolution to youth ages 13-19 by using the arts - and Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts to provide pro bono services for artists. He also is a mentor to at-risk youth, homeless men, and volunteers at the Gospel Rescue Mission.

He received his degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Morgan State University and pursued graduate studies at Eastern Michigan and Howard universities.

A native of Maryland's Eastern Shore (Easton), Roberts, and his wife Cherie of 22 years, have one daughter Hilary.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry. With more than 44 million telephone access lines and more than 20 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23 countries.