Claude Benoit to succeed Bernard Lamarre as Chair of the TELUS Montreal Community Board

TELUS and its Montreal Community Board gave $3 million to community organizations in 2011

MONTREAL, April 3, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS is pleased to announce today that Mrs. Claude Benoit has accepted the position of chair of the TELUS Montreal Community Board, in addition to her current position as president and CEO of the Old Port of Montreal Corporation. She will replace Mr. Bernard Lamarre, who has served on the Board since its inception in 2006.

"At TELUS, we align ourselves with inspiring leaders who truly understand the needs of our community," said François Côté, president of TELUS Québec and a member of the TELUS Community Boards in Montreal and Quebec City. "I am honoured to welcome Claude Benoit, an exceptional woman who stands out for her contributions to education and science, and who has worked tirelessly promoting Montreal's culture and heritage. I would also like to thank Bernard Lamarre for the remarkable work he has done while skillfully guiding the TELUS Montreal Community Board over the past five years. Thanks, in significant part, to his leadership, our Community Board has had a meaningful impact in positively touching the lives of many thousands of our Montreal youth."

The mission of the TELUS Montreal Community Board is to educate and empower youth in Montreal to improve their quality of life and to enable them to reach their full potential. The Board works collaboratively with local grassroots organizations to support youth given the childhood and teen years are a period in which school and community interventions can make a significant difference in improving opportunities for success.

Mrs. Claude Benoit is president and CEO of the Old Port of Montreal Corporation, a position she has held for more than a decade. During her time as vice-president, from 1997 to 2000, she oversaw the development of the Montréal Science Centre. Mrs. Benoit is a member of the Order of Canada and has been awarded the McNeil Medal from the Royal Society of Canada for her significant contributions to the promotion of scientific and technological literacy among students, teachers and the general public.

"I love Montreal and I believe it is essential to help charities that make a difference in people's lives," said Mrs. Benoit. "I'm so impressed by the TELUS community philosophy of 'we give where we live'. I don't know of many companies with such a strong culture of generosity as TELUS and I am honoured to be chairing its Community Board in Montreal. This is a dynamic, passionate and inspiring team and together we can do great things to help the youth in our city."

The TELUS Montreal Community Board, chaired by Mrs.Claude Benoit, is comprised of the following individuals: François Côté, president of TELUS Québec; Gisèle Desrochers, corporate director and HR consultant; François Gratton, Senior Vice-President, Business Market, Eastern Canada, and Consumer Wireless Quebec, TELUS; Isabelle Hudon, president, Sun Life Financial, Quebec; Dr. Martin Juneau, cardiologist and director of Prevention, Montreal Heart Institute; Arleen King, vice-president, Customer Experience, TELUS Mobility; Anne Marie LaBerge, vice-president, Marketing Communications, TELUS Costumer Solutions; Patrick Loulou, senior vice-president, Corporate Development, Domtar; Geneviève Morin, chief of investment at Fondaction; and Danielle Sauvage, executive director of the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

About the Montreal Community Board
The TELUS Montreal Community Board was established in 2006 and allocates $600,000 annually to grass roots community projects in Greater Montreal that support young people. The Board is comprised of local community leaders and TELUS team members. Community board members evaluate donation requests by prioritizing projects in the areas of arts and culture, education and sports, and health and well-being in our environment. Organizations that have received funding include Le Groupe L'Itinéraire, the Lighthouse Children and Families, MU and the Dr Julien Foundation.

Registered charities wishing to submit a funding application for one of their projects to a TELUS Community Board are invited to do so by visiting telus.com/community.

About TELUS in Quebec
A vibrant corporate presence in Quebec for nearly 85 years, TELUS currently employs over 5,500 team members in the province. Since 2000, the company has spent and invested nearly $12.3 billion in the Quebec economy. A Canadian industry leader, TELUS offers Quebec communities access to state-of-the-art global communication technologies, at home and in the workplace. In support of its philosophy "We give where we live", the company has contributed almost $30 million to support local charitable and community organizations across Quebec since 2005.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.4 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.3 million wireless subscribers, 3.6 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 500,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

Jacinthe Beaulieu
TELUS Media relations
418-318-6102
[email protected]