Hebrew National Crowns Detroit Tigers' Top Hot Dog Vendor as `Higher Authority Hawker'

Tigers fans have spoken. The culmination of Hebrew National'sfirst-ever "Higher Authority Hawker Challenge" came to an operatic endduring a pre-game ceremony on July 21, when Charley "Opera Man"Marcuse took the title of Comerica Park's "Higher Authority Hawker."As the Tigers geared up to face the Oakland Athletics, four ofDetroit's finest hot dog vendors, whom fans had selected throughin-stadium voting over the past four weeks, prepped for their owncompetition on-field. In a nail-biting showdown that paired passionwith poise, the finalists, consisting of hot dog vendors Julius King,Brenda McCants, Charley Marcuse and Johnny Kelmar, showed fans what ittakes to be a Higher Authority Hawker by displaying theiraward-winning cries. Charley's bellowing hawks proved that he couldstand out from the crowd. Tigers fans and the Hebrew National brandrecognized him as the Higher Authority Hawker.

To win the title of Hebrew National Higher Authority Hawker,Marcuse had to modify his hawker cry. The standard hawker cry, "getyer hot dog," was not enough to get past the infield for first-placeDetroit Tigers fans, nor did it cut the mustard for hawking premiumHebrew National franks, which are made from 100-percent kosher beef,made with only the finest cuts of meat, with no additive colors orfillers.

"Although Opera Man took the crown, we saw some great performancesfrom many of Detroit's best hot dog hawkers, and were happy to seevendors make the Hebrew National battle cry their own," said marketingmanager Jon Swadley.

Hebrew National, where "kosher" means "quality," recruited thehighest-quality, most outgoing and energetic hot dog hawkers to berewarded for serving Detroit's avid fans.

"While the baseball players perform on the field, the food hawkersare in command in the stands," Swadley said. "The Higher AuthorityHawker Challenge enabled Hebrew National to salute those unsungbaseball heroes who make our days at the park truly memorable."

Hebrew National's Higher Authority Hawker Challenge began Friday,June 16. Comerica's food hawkers put on one "yell" of a competition towin the hearts and votes of Tigers fans, with their own distinctivehawking styles. Marcuse, the legendary Hawker known to fans as "OperaMan," did just that and Hebrew National is honoring him with a luxurytrip to New York City to see the Tigers take on the men in pinstripes.Hebrew National will roll out the red carpet with a personal waitstaff at Yankee Stadium. When the Tigers win, the night will havebecome the hawker's ultimate FAN-tasy.

For the duration of the program, Hebrew National positioned aHigher Authority Hawker voting station on the main concourse ofComerica Park, where, during Tiger home games, fans viewed the hawkeraudition tapes on a television monitor, submitted votes for theirfavorite hawker and checked back to view the current leaders. Aftervoting for their favorite hawker, fans were enrolled automatically fora chance to win a Hebrew National Prize pack consisting of freetickets to a future Detroit Tigers baseball game and coupons for freeHebrew National kosher franks.

July 21 will go down in Detroit baseball history as the day fansadded Charley "Opera Man" Marcuse to the roster of such Tigers greatsas Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Al Kaline and Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez..Although the 2006 Higher Authority Hawker competition came to an end,Hebrew National salutes all of Comerica's hot dog hawkers.

The Hebrew National brand is a registered trademark of ConAgraBrands,Inc.

About ConAgra Foods

ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is one of North America's largestpackaged food companies, serving grocery retailers, as well asrestaurants and other foodservice establishments. Popular ConAgraFoods consumer brands include: Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters,Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Marie Callender's, OrvilleRedenbacher's, PAM and many others. For more information, visitwww.conagrafoods.com.