PJC Piper Jaffray Companies

Piper Jaffray Receives Quality of Life Award from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce MINNEAPOLIS, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piper Jaffray & Co. received the 2004 Quality of Life Award from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce at the 13th annual Quality of Life Awards Dinner May 20. The firm was one of six companies honored at the ceremony for its exceptional community commitment to area businesses in 2003. Specifically, Piper Jaffray was recognized for its workplace tutoring program, which helps students prepare for the Minnesota Basic Standardized Test by matching students with Piper Jaffray employees for weekly one-on-one tutoring sessions held at Piper Jaffray headquarters. "We are extremely proud to receive this great award," said Tad Piper, vice chairman of the board of Piper Jaffray Companies. "We have worked hard on this program and our employees take great pride and passion in tutoring these students each week. It is an integral part of our guiding principles at Piper Jaffray to give back to the communities in which we live and work." Piper Jaffray launched the Workplace Tutoring program in Spring 2003 with 25 seventh graders at Harry W. Davis Academy in Minneapolis. Following the success of this partnership, the firm added an additional school partner, working with 20 seventh graders at Benjamin Banneker Middle School also in Minneapolis. In addition, the firm coordinated a uniform and coat drive with the schools. In August, Piper Jaffray employees held a back to school drive, collecting school supplies and donations to help purchase uniforms for students at Harry W. Davis Academy. This past winter, the firm held a coat drive, providing a new coat, hat and mittens for all 247 students at Benjamin Banneker Middle School. The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce started the Quality of Life Awards in 1991 as a way to recognize the role businesses play in enhancing the region's quality of life. Winners are selected by a panel of representatives from Twin Cities businesses, public and non-profit sectors. Other 2004 award recipients included: Adolfson & Peterson, Allianz Life North America, Gray Plant Mooty, MetroConnections and Rider Bennett, LLP. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Piper Jaffray & Co., a subsidiary of Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC), is a focused securities firm dedicated to delivering superior financial advice, investment products and transaction execution within selected sectors of the financial services marketplace. The company operates through two primary revenue-generating segments -- Capital Markets and Private Client Services. Investment Research, an independent group reporting to the CEO, supports clients of both segments. The firm serves corporations, government and non-profit entities, and institutional investors on a national basis and serves the financial advisory needs of private individuals predominantly across the western half of the United States. The firm has approximately 3,000 employees in 111 offices in 23 states across the country and in London, England. For more information about Piper Jaffray, visit us online at http://www.piperjaffray.com/ . Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE. DATASOURCE: Piper Jaffray & Co. CONTACT: Dana Wade, Public Affairs and Media Relations of Piper Jaffray, +1-415-277-1556 Web site: http://www.piperjaffray.com/

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