Matthew Quandt,

10, of Peachtree City is a young man with amazing artistic and analytical

skills, according to his mom, Theresa.

The Braelinn

Elementary fourth grader proved her right, after winning top honors in

a contest sponsored by Delta Air Lines.

As the child

of a Delta employee, (Matthew's dad Greg is a pilot), Matthew was eligible

to put his creativity to the test, and come up with a holiday design to

be used on ties and scarves sold to benefit Habitat for Humanity.

The program,

and eventual contest, is the creation of Delta's flight operations employees

in partnership with President Jimmy Carter, a hands-on supporter of Habitat

for Humanity.

The festively

designed neckwear is the result of the competition in which children and

grandchildren of Delta employees submitted holiday-themed concepts and

drawings. The winning design is a hybrid of ideas submitted by Matthew

Quandt, 10, of Peachtree City, and Sepideh Ahmadpour (age 12) of Salt

Lake City.

The young designers

and their families were honored at an announcement ceremony where they

met Carter, and the neckwear was unveiled.

"Habitat

for Humanity has long been viewed as an effective means of giving back

to the community," said Dave Bushy, Delta senior vice president -

flight operations. "One of the ways to institutionalize our Habitat

commitment is by coming up with year-round fund-raising ideas such as

this clever and fun holiday neckwear contest."

Company employees

and the general public will be able to purchase the neckwear at The Flight

Station, Delta's company store. Advance orders also may be placed via

the store's web site, www.flightstation.com . Prices are $19.95

for a tie and $24.95 for a scarf.

The contest

program was managed and funded by the employees of the firm's pilots division

over the past eight months, under the direction of chief technical pilot

Michael Quiello.

Employees will

be encouraged to wear the neckwear on-duty during the upcoming holiday

season. The festive apparel items are expected to be particularly popular

among members of the company's frontline team pilots, flight attendants

and airport customer service employees. The two children who were the

creative winners will receive a prize of round-trip Delta air travel for

themselves and their families.

Since 1984,

the former president has been an ardent supporter of Habitat for Humanity.

One week each year, he and his wife, Rosalyn, lead the Jimmy Carter Work

Project to build homes and raise awareness of the critical need for affordable

housing.

Delta, too,

has a history of supporting Habitat for Humanity. Last year under the

direction of Bushy, a group of pilots and Flight Operations support team

personnel partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build a house in Fairburn.

Currently, the firm is in the middle of a building blitz in Fairburn and

will have four additional houses completed before the end of the holiday

period.

As Bushy presented

Carter with the tie and scarf designs at the ceremony, he said, "We

appreciate your efforts in Habitat for Humanity and for setting the example

for us all in community service. And I hope you, President Carter, have

the opportunity to wear this special tie this holiday season."

Habitat for

Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical housing ministry that

works in partnership with business, churches, civic organizations, employee

groups and individuals to build decent, affordable housing for the responsible,

working poor. Founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for

Humanity has built more than 100,000 houses around the world. The houses

are sold to homeowner partners at no profit and with no-interest 20-year

mortgages. Homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor into

building their Habitat houses.

In addition

to its support of Habitat for Humanity, Delta also is supporting major

projects and events with the following charities this year: Delta Classic

for Kids benefiting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, March of Dimes Walk

America, Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Juvenile Diabetes

Foundation Walk, Aid Atlanta and the Aids Walk, Scottish Rite Foundation

of Utah, the Childrenís Miracle Network, American Red Cross International

Disaster program and the Legacy Ski and Ride Program.