National Trust for Historic Preservation and Fireman`s Fund Insurance Company Launch `This Place Matters` Photo-Sharing Campaign

Online Campaign Features Personal Stories & Images Highlighting the Nation`s
Architectural and Cultural Diversity
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Fireman`s Fund Insurance
Company today launched "This Place Matters," a Web-based photo sharing campaign
to empower Americans to weigh in on places that they feel are architecturally or
culturally significant. People nationwide will be able to post stories and
photos using social media sites Flickr and Google Maps highlighting personal,
regional and national places that matter to them. The campaign, made possible by
the Fireman`s Fund, will run throughout 2009. This Place Matters

"This Place Matters" will feature places great and small, famous and infamous -
and even some relatively obscure - that collectively represent the nation`s
cultural consciousness. Individual stories will offer insights into family
heritage, neighborhood identity and the diversity of the American experience.
The campaign aims to elevate the sites` visibility and underscore the need for
their preservation.

"Every day, scores of local landmarks are lost, creating holes in the hearts of
communities," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation. "`This Place Matters` shows that everyday places - be they a
neighborhood school, downtown store or home of a local hero - are just as
important as national icons in telling America`s story."

People are invited to go to www.preservationNation.org/thisplacematters,
download a "This Place Matters" sign, take a picture or video of themselves with
the sign in front of a place that matters to them, and then post it to the "This
Place Matters" Web site. Contributors can also elect to post stories without a
photo on a special This Place Matters Google map.

"This Place Matters" is also the theme of National Preservation Month, May 2009.
The Web site http://www.preservationnation.org, offers tools, activities, and
discussion boards. Visitors to the site can share stories about what they are
doing in their community to celebrate Preservation Month. Students are invited
to learn about the preservation work of their peers in the "Teaching
Preservation" blog and discuss what they are doing to save important places in
their own community in the "Blackboard" forum.

"The physical structures that we insure matter deeply to our homeowners and
business owners and to Fireman`s Fund," said Steve Bushnell, product director,
Fireman`s Fund. "Helping our customers preserve and protect their property is
what we do, so this campaign is a natural fit for us as a sponsor."

About Fireman`s Fund

Fireman`s Fund Insurance Company is a premier property and casualty insurance
company providing personal and commercial insurance products nationwide. It is
rated `AA-` by Standard & Poor`s Rating Services. Fireman`s Fund is a member of
the Allianz Group (NYSE: AZ), one of the world`s largest providers of insurance
and financial services. For additional information, visit www.firemansfund.com.

About The National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.PreservationNation.org) is a
non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance
and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great
moments from history - and the important moments of everyday life - took place,
the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and
communities, spark economic development and promote environmental
sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field
offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the
National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education,
advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local
communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and
collectively shaping the future of America`s stories.

Fireman`s Fund Insurance Company
Janet Ruiz, 415-899-5381
jruiz@ffic.com
or
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Nord Wennerstrom, 202-588-6141
nord_wennerstrom@nthp.org

Copyright Business Wire 2009