Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., parent company of T.G.I. Friday's® and Pick Up Stix® restaurants, today announced the promotion of Amy Freshwater to Vice President, Communication and Public Relations, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide.

"Throughout her nearly 23-year career, Amy has lived the Carlson values every day and we are thrilled to have a talented executive of her stature," said Anne Varano, senior vice president human resources and communication, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide. "She is a Carlson Restaurants Worldwide success story and we look forward to what she will bring to her position in this, the next stage of her career."

Freshwater, who will report jointly to Varano and Kim Olson, Carlson's chief communications officer, has responsibility for all aspects of corporate communication, public relations and crisis management for the T.G.I. Friday's® and Pick Up Stix® brands.

Freshwater was recently named a finalist in the Best Corporate Communicator category in The 2007 American Business Awards, the only national, all-encompassing awards program honoring great performances in business.

Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., the parent company of TGI Friday's Inc., is a privately held company owned by Minneapolis-based Carlson, a world leader in the hospitality, travel and marketing industries. As of May 2007, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide owns, operates, franchises and licenses more than 1,000 restaurants in 56 countries, including T.G.I. Friday's®, Friday's Front Row® Sports Grill and Friday's American Bar® and Pick Up Stix®. For more information on the brands, visit http://www.fridays.com/ and http://www.pickupstix.com/.