COLUMBUS, Ga., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated has been named to the Top 50 Corporations for supplier diversity list by Hispanic Enterprise magazine. The February/March issue highlights a complete list of companies receiving this honor.

"We understand the importance of a diverse supplier base and are committed to the economic prosperity in multi-cultural communities," said Alfred Blackmar, vice president of Facilities Support at Aflac. "Our mission is to continue to develop processes and procedures that provide easy, efficient and accountable access for certified minority-owned businesses."

Over the past few years, Aflac has significantly increased spending on its supplier diversity program to include advances in educational training for minority vendors. Since the inception of the program in 2003, Aflac has surpassed the $100 million mark in spending with minority- and women-owned companies.

Hispanic Enterprise magazine evaluated each company's procurement opportunities to minority-owned businesses including tools and resources allocated to improve supplier-customer relationship and development of comprehensive supplier programs through mentorship, training, networking meetings and other incentives.

Latina Style magazine recently named Aflac as one of the 50 Best Companies for Latinas to work for in the United States for the eighth year in a row.

About Aflac

For more than 50 years, Aflac products have given policyholders the opportunity to direct cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and the number one insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in force in Japan. Our insurance products provide protection to more than 40 million people worldwide. Aflac has been included in Fortune magazine's listing of America's Most Admired Companies for seven years and in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for ten consecutive years. Aflac has also been recognized three times by both Fortune magazine's listing of the Top 50 Employers for Minorities and Working Mother magazine's listing of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com .

SOURCE Aflac Incorporated

CONTACT: Darcy Brito, +1-706-320-2358, dbrito@aflac.com, or Mechell Clark, +1-706-243-8004, meclark@aflac.com, both of Aflac Incorporated/ /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/ /Web site: http://www.aflac.com /