Toyota Donates $1,000,000 to Hurricane Charley Relief Efforts

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.--Aug. 1, 20047, 2004--Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET), its parent company, JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JMFE) and their employees have announced a $1,000,000 donation to aid victims of Hurricane Charley. The donation is being given both to the American Red Cross and to other relief efforts for those who were impacted by the storm.

"There are many of us who are counting our blessings because we were fortunate to escape Charley's destructive path, but there are still thousands of people who are suffering from tremendous loss," said JMFE Founder and Honorary Chairman Jim Moran. "Whenever there is a disaster, or an area of need, our associates never fail to step up to the plate and offer to help. This contribution gives our company, and the great people we have on our team, the chance to give back to our fellow neighbors who really need it."

Palm Toyota, in Punta Gorda, one of the 166 independently owned dealerships within SET's vehicle distribution network, was destroyed by Hurricane Charley. An additional ten of SET's dealerships in Florida, spanning Naples to Daytona, were also impacted by the storm.

"Thankfully, to our knowledge none of our Toyota family were injured by Hurricane Charley," noted JMFE Chairman Pat Moran. "Yet, it is important to realize that the pictures and video clips we are seeing don't begin to depict the true devastation, sadness and stress that people are experiencing as they face a terrible aftermath like this one.

"Those of us who have been so fortunate to be out of harm's way now need to come forward and do all we can to help," she continued. "We hope that other companies and their associates are also inspired to lend a helping hand to alleviate the damage and suffering."

"The generosity and compassion demonstrated by JM Family and Toyota Motor Sales set an outstanding example of responsible corporate citizenship," said Bill Epps, the Broward County Red Cross Executive Director. "The funds will be used to provide food, water, shelter, and counseling to families left devastated by Hurricane Charley. This gift demonstrates how the worst in Mother Nature brings out the best in human nature."

For more information on assisting with hurricane relief efforts, visit The American Red Cross's Web site at http://www.redcross.org.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) is the sales, marketing, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the United States, marketing products and services through a network of 1408 Toyota and Lexus dealers in 49 states. Established October 31, 1957, TMS and its subsidiaries are also involved in logistics, motorsports, R&D and general aviation.

JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JMFE) (http://www.jmfamily.com) is a $7.7 billion diversified automotive company ranked by Forbes as the 15th largest privately held company in the U.S. It is currently ranked No. 19 by a survey in Fortune(R) magazine of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and No. 146 on the InformationWeek 500 listing of the nation's leading information technology innovators. The company's primary subsidiaries include: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET), the nation's largest franchised distributor of Toyota vehicles; World Omni Financial Corp., an automotive financial products and services business that has been given a STRONG ranking by Standard & Poor's, the highest possible, as a consumer finance, automobile loan and lease servicer and whose principal operations are CenterOne Financial Services, Southeast Toyota Finance and DataScan Technologies; JM&A Group, one of the largest independent insurance and extended warranty group of companies in the U.S, ranked this year by J.D. Power and Associates as the "Highest Overall in Dealer Satisfaction with Service Contract Providers;" and JM Lexus, the largest volume retail Lexus dealership in the world. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., JMFE's major locations include Jacksonville, Fla., Mobile, Ala.; Commerce and Alpharetta, Ga., and St. Louis, Mo.