AVON, Ohio - June 23, 2006 - Thirteen-year-old Ben Ford knew that 500 pages, let alone a short essay, would not have been enough to explain the many ways his father uses Duck® brand duct tape. But when the search for one dad's practical and wacky use of America's timeless tool began, he could not let the opportunity to spotlight his father's fix-all favorites pass him by.

Taping techniques used to repair book bags and mend a haphazard stingray wound with band-aids and a make-shift duct tape tourniquet caught the attention of judges from Henkel Consumer Adhesives, Inc., marketers of Duck® brand duct tape and, in turn, won Paul Ford from Palm Harbor, Fla., the title of the 2006 Duck brand Duct Tape Dad of the Year.

Ford began his reign on Friday, June 16, 2006 after he was crowned at the third annual Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival, a weekend-long celebration in the acclaimed "Duct Tape Capital" of the world featuring amazing duct tape crafts, artwork and fashion in addition to traditional festival rides, games and food. Equipped with a duct tape crown and scepter, a year's supply of Duck® Brand Duct Tape and a $500 cash prize, the winning father and son rode on the Duck brand float in the duct tape parade on Saturday morning.

In 2004 and 2005, Duct Tape Dad of the Year entries were accepted only from the Avon area. This year's duct tape contest, however, rolled out nationally as the search for the craftiest dads expanded across the country. Children (ages seven and up) and adults, alike, had the opportunity to spotlight their father in an original essay explaining why he should be honored as the Duck brand Duct Tape Dad of the Year.

Sondra Clark, 16, from Nashville, Tenn., earned her dad, Allen, the second place prize, and David Spriggs of Richmond, Va. secured third place in honor of his duct-taping skills. Each entry was judged based on five criteria: creativity, originality, responsiveness to the question posed, grammatical correctness and incorporation of Duck brand duct tape. The runner-up received a cash prize of $250 and, along with the third place winner, a year's supply of Duck brand duct tape.

The city of Avon will "stick" to keeping the contest and festival on Father's Day weekend next year to continue the tradition of honoring Dads and their favorite fix-all product. For more information, visit www.AvonDuctTapeFestival.com.

The Duck® brand offers an array of tapes, packaging supplies and home products that provide simple, imaginative and helpful solutions for a variety of tasks around the home, school and office. Visit www.duckproducts.com for additional product information.

Duck brand products are developed and marketed by Henkel Consumer Adhesives, Inc., a part of Henkel, a worldwide leader in adhesives and a European leader in laundry/home care and personal care products. Henkel's North American consumer adhesive brands include Duck®, Loctite®, LePage® (for Canada only), PL®, Pro-Series®, Polyseamseal®, Pritt® and Painter's Mate Green® brands. With more than 50,000 employees worldwide, Henkel generated combined sales of 11.974 billion euros in 2005. For additional information, please visit www.henkel.us.