Citadel Outlets’ National Missing Children’s Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 22, 2007
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sheryl Craig or Donald Wilson (310) 899-2900
Deborah Blackford (951) 898-0123
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CHILD?—CITADEL OUTLETS TO POST OVER 100 MISSING CHILDRENS’ FACES ON 8 FREEWAY LED BILLBOARDS ALL DAY IN HONOR OF NATIONAL MISSING CHILDREN’S DAY
Outlet Center Also Announces Unique Photo AMBER Alert Initiative
(Los Angeles, CA) On May 24, 2007, in collaboration with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Citadel Outlets will display the faces of more than 100 missing children on 8 massive high definition freeway billboard signs along Interstate 5 from 5:00 am – 11:00 pm, in honor of Missing Children’s Day. Citadel Outlets will also become an AMBER Alert site that posts photographs along with important information regarding child abduction on their LED signs. Nationally coordinated in 2002, AMBER Alert has proven successful, helping rescue more than 329 children nationwide.
In addition to showing the children’s faces on May 24th, the LED (Light Emitting Diodes) billboards will display the message, Have You Seen This Child?, along with a response telephone number: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) that the public can call if they have information about one of the missing children.
The children’s faces will be shown on all of the center’s huge LED billboards stretching for of a mile along the Interstate 5 in the City of Commerce atop Citadel Outlet’s historic wall. Seen by over 150,000 local freeway commuters every day, the LED signs span 1,700 square feet of linear frontage. The 24 ft. by 31 ft. high LED billboards have a high definition outdoor display quality.
This unique opportunity with Citadel Outlets will enable hundreds of thousands of parents, guardians, and concerned citizens to aid in the rescue of missing children, says Herb Jones, Vice President for External Affairs for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. These efforts are a perfect fit to help us call attention to this nation wide issue.
Citadel Outlets hopes to raise awareness for all parents and guardians on the importance of educating children about personal safety and to continue the search for children who are still missing, says Jess Irwin, Marketing Director for Citadel Outlets.
ON MAY 24, FROM 5AM 12:00 NOON THE FOLLOWING REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS:
* Mika Moulton, mother of the late Christopher Meyer, who will share her story about her missing son (available until 10:00 AM)
* Bryan Cranston, celebrity supporter and actor Hal on FOX hit comedy Malcolm in the Middle (available 7:00 AM - 12 Noon).
* Jon Adler, National Executive V.P., Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
* Sergeant Somoano from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department
* Jess Irwin, Marketing Director, Citadel Outlets (available from 5am - 11pm)
* Representative from The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Later on in the day, Citadel Outlets will host a Child Safety Day from 3pm - 7pm in Center Court. The Child Safety Day will offer parents and guardians free services including: digital pictures and child safety tip sheets (courtesy of the California Chapter of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association), fingerprinting (courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation), bike safety by the crime cat (courtesy of City of Commerce Community Services Department) and home safety information (courtesy of the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles).
Background on Mika Moulton, mother of the late Christopher Meyer:
Mika’s 10 year-old son, Christopher Meyer, was kidnapped on August 7, 1995 from a popular boat dock a couple of blocks from their home in the small village of Aroma Park, Illinois. After an eight day search, Christopher’s body was found buried in a shallow grave. The man convicted of the brutal slaying had been on parole after serving 12 years of a 25-year sentence for the murder of a 5-year-old neighbor girl.
In the years since her son’s murder, Mika has become a veteran lobbyist; fighting for legislation that will keep violent predators behind bars and protect children. In 2003, outgoing Governor George Ryan of Illinois, commuted the sentences of all 167 death row inmates to life in prison; including the man who killed Christopher and the five-year old girl years earlier. Christopher’s death helped win passage of a law in Illinois requiring community notification about sex offenders living in the area. Mika has worked with federal legislators to create bills for stricter sentencing guidelines of predators. Mika lobbied extensively for the passage of the No Second Chances for Murderers, Rapists and Child Molesters Bill, which President Clinton signed into law.
Mika is a member of Team HOPE, providing peer support to other families of missing children and a frequent speaker for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
About Team HOPE:
Coping with the trauma of having a missing child demands courage and determination on the part of parents and other family members who can feel isolated in facing their fears and frustrations. NCMEC’s Team HOPE, established in 1998, matches searching families with trained volunteers who have had or still have a missing child. Volunteers offer emotional support, compassion, guidance, empowerment, and assistance. Team HOPE volunteers include parents, grandparents, and other family members, and they are screened and trained before working with families. Nominations of potential volunteers originate from active volunteers, NCMEC, missing-children clearinghouses, nonprofit organizations working with families of missing children, and law-enforcement officials.
About Citadel Outlets:
Only in Los Angeles is it possible to drive to an Assyrian palace to buy blue jeans, jewelry, and leather goods. It’s wall to wall shopping with over 85 top brand name stores and restaurants. Citadel Outlets completed an expansion in November 2005 adding 35 more stores to the tenant mix. The center now features brand name stores including BCBG, Calvin Klein, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Puma, Billabong, Eddie Bauer, Ann Taylor and Old Navy. Dining options were also enhanced with the addition of Ruby’s Diner.
L.A.’s answer to outlet shopping, Citadel Outlets has come a long way since its historical facade was erected 75 years ago. Starting off as a tire factory - the largest tire manufacturing facility on the west coast - and transforming into a 742,000 square foot, mixed-use commercial property, featuring a 201-room Wyndham Hotel, five multi-tenant office buildings and Los Angeles’ only outlet shopping center. Citadel Outlets and Office Park, located 10 minutes southeast of downtown Los Angeles on Interstate-5 at Atlantic Boulevard North, is owned and managed by Craig Realty Group.
About Craig Realty Group:
Craig Realty Group is a shopping center development firm founded by Steven L. Craig and is based in Newport Beach, California. The firm specializes in upscale factory outlet centers. The company currently owns and operates Outlets at Anthem in Phoenix, Arizona; Cabazon Outlets located near Palm Springs, California; Citadel Outlets in Commerce, California; Outlets at Conroe located near Houston, Texas; Outlets at Hillsboro located south of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas ; Outlets at Castle Rock located south of Denver, Colorado; Outlets at Loveland located north of Denver, Colorado; Outlets at Silverthorne located west of Denver, Colorado; Vicksburg Factory Outlets in Vicksburg, Mississippi and Woodburn Company Stores located near Portland, Oregon. Craig Realty Group also manages Lake Elsinore Outlets located in Lake Elsinore, California. The company is currently developing The Plaza at San Clemente in San Clemente, California, a 650,000 square foot mixed-use project, and Sussex Commons Lifestyle Outlets in Frankford Township, New Jersey. Craig previously developed Carlsbad Company Stores, which was sold to an east coast developer, and Franciacorta Outlet Village in Brescia, Italy. Craig was also responsible for the development of Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon, one of the largest and most successful manufacturer outlet centers in the world and was instrumental in developing Camarillo Premium Outlets in Camarillo, California.
For more information about the company, visit http://www.craigrealtygroup.com