THIS ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE COMES WITH SILLY STRING

It's not easy to classify Retro Bill's act.

He looks like Elvis (the pompadour), acts like Pee Wee Herman (maniacal and
loud) and presents a unique and serious message on the importance of making
good choices.

Cap this with bouts of spraying Silly String on his young audiences and
twirling a pink hula hoop, and you've got an act that transfixes students -
and maybe, just maybe, gets across an effective anti-drug message.

"I don't drink, I don't do drugs and I don't smoke," Retro Bill (a.k.a.
Bill Russ of Hollywood, Calif.) told about 100 fifth- and sixth-graders
last week at Seipelt Elementary in the Milford Exempted Village School
District.

Russ' Thursday visit to the Tristate was his first since he became DARE
America's official Safety Buddy four years ago.

The message from DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) helps lay a
foundation about positive life choices.

Russ learned the DARE message as a child in Aurora, Ill. By high school, he
was known as "the boy who encouraged kids not to do bad things."

Before creating the Retro Bill character, Russ was a motivational speaker.
Then in support of DARE, he produced a video on children's safety -
starring Retro Bill - and donated it to DARE America for its use in schools.

"He's able to give the message of being different and having good behavior
at the same time," said Milford DARE officer Kevin Petrocelli of the Miami
Township Police Department.

The police department and school parent-teacher organizations paid for
Retro Bill's visit. The total cost for six one-hour presentations Thursday
and Friday at four public and two parochial schools was $350.

His Seipelt show started out with a bang. Retro Bill rushed into the
cafeteria laughing, shouting and spraying Silly String all over the
students. From that antic came a message of sharing.

"If anybody didn't get a piece of Silly String, then those who did should
give some to their neighbors, because sharing is cool," he said.

Retro Bill talked about his Elvis-like appearance, but emphasized that
Retro Bill is alive and the King of Rock and Roll is dead, from drug abuse.

Russ' closing remark to students: "It's not easy growing up. But if you
make good choices, it comes a lot easier."

* ABOUT RETRO BILL

Bill Russ ("Retro Bill") of Hollywood, Calif., travels 340 days a year
promoting messages of safety, self-esteem and good choices. His DARE Safety
Tips Video won awards in 2002 from the International Children's Film
Festival and the International Family Film Festival. DARE officers in more
than 350,000 classrooms annually use Retro Bill's video. For information,
call (661) 257-1955 or go to www.retrobill.com.