STIHL Partners with P. Allen Smith to Promote Easier Gardening and Environmental Initiatives

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Anita Gambill (757) 486-9151
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STIHL Incorporated
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VIRGINIA BEACH, VA .- STIHL Inc. has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement as the official handheld outdoor power equipment sponsor of best-selling author, television personality and award-winning garden designer P. Allen Smith. Smith's public television program P. Allen Smith's Garden Home and the nationally-syndicated, P. Allen Smith Gardens speak directly to the Do-It-Yourself Market.

Smith, a regular visiting expert on The Today Show and The Weather Channel, has become a popular choice of women viewers and gardening enthusiasts. Through television and print media, Smith demonstrates how homeowners can blend key elements of a house and garden to create a stylish, unified living space.

"We are excited to be embarking on this relationship with someone whose environmental values align with STIHL values while also gaining an opportunity to affiliate our brand with such a notable gardening expert as P. Allen Smith," said Peter Burton, vice president of sales and marketing for STIHL Inc. "It was a mutual choice, and we are looking forward to a long relationship."

Smith is currently in the process of developing and constructing his "green solutions" Garden Home Retreat. Designed to showcase do-it-now tips for homeowners who want to know how to save time and money and have a beautiful home and garden, while being good stewards of our natural resources, the Retreats gardens demonstrate smart and earth-friendly ways to live a greener lifestyle.

According to Smith, "STIHL has a solid reputation for providing reliable, consumer-friendly handheld power equipment. I have used their equipment in my landscaping work for more than 25 years and value the service provided by the local dealer. I also appreciate the companys innovative, environmentally-conscious products and their ongoing efforts to support educational programs."

STIHL, which offers customers several of the lowest emission engine families in their classes as listed on the EPA Web site, as well as non petroleum-based engine and bar oils and electric power tools, will work with Smith in helping consumers find ways to enjoy their gardens while reducing their impact on the environment.

Smith will also collaborate with STIHL to provide home gardeners with easy gardening solutions and to promote a number of high profile initiatives and partnerships geared towards environmental education and youth including the Tree Research Education and Endowment (TREE) Funds Tour des Trees and the National FFAs Nursery and Landscaping Career Development Event.

About STIHL Inc.
STIHL Inc. manufactures the world’s largest selling brand of chain saws and produces a full line of powerful, lightweight, and versatile handheld outdoor power equipment for homeowners and professional users. STIHL products are sold through servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast— not mass merchants. For more information or for the name of the closest STIHL retailer call toll free 1-800-GO STIHL (1-800-467-8445) or visit the STIHL Web site at www.stihlusa.com.

For information on job opportunities with STIHL Inc., please go to www.stihlcareers.com. STIHL is an EEO and drug-free work environment.

About P. Allen Smith
As a fourth generation nurseryman who owned and operated his own garden center, Smith gained years of practical experience guiding the gardening public before he launched a career in television. After studying garden history and design at the University of Manchester in England through an International Rotary Scholarship and becoming a Certified Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, he returned to this country with the mission of inspiring Americans to embrace the joy of creating beautiful gardens.

Early in his career, Smith introduced groups to the wonder and beauty of European gardens as a guide and lecturer for private tours. Next came workshops and requests for appearances on local television and radio stations. Soon he created a television production company, Hortus, Ltd, offering 90-second gardening reports to local news programs across the country, which led to the nationally-syndicated, 30-minute program P. Allen Smith Gardens; the public television show, P. Allen Smiths Garden Home; gardening reports on The Weather Channel, and regular appearances on The Today Show. He is also the author of three best-selling gardening books and many articles in national magazines.

Smiths first book, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home was the best-selling gardening book in 2003, honored at the 2003 National Book Festival and named the "Best Garden Design Book of the Year” by Fine Gardening magazine. Allen's second book in his "Garden Home" series, P. Allen Smith's Container Gardens: 60 Recipes to Accent Your Garden Home, was released in March 2005. And in February 2006, P. Allen Smith's Colors for the Garden: Creating Compelling Color Themes was released.

For more information on P. Allen Smith, visit www.pallensmith.com

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