Local High School Athlete to Meet Denver Broncos Brandon Stokley at The Athlete's Foot
Ta'ran Leopold Named Regional Winner of Retailer's "In My Shoes" Contest
| Source: NexCen Brands, Inc.
DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - October 19, 2007) - Some athletes, like high school senior Ta'ran
Leopold, believe that practice makes perfect and that hard work will pay
off in the end. Ta'ran, a running back for Gateway High School in Aurora,
Colorado, expressed this belief in his winning entry of The Athlete's Foot (TAF)
nationwide "In My Shoes"
contest, giving him the opportunity to meet another athlete who exemplifies
this belief -- Denver Broncos
wide receiver Brandon Stokley. The two will meet on October 23 from 6-8
p.m. at The Athlete's Foot store located at 716 16th Street, Unit 1 in
Denver, CO.
"The 'In My Shoes' contest aims to reward young athletes who have set
attainable performance goals for the school year by pairing them with a
professional athlete who can help mentor them on how to achieve those
goals," commented Robert W. D'Loren, President and CEO of NexCen Brands, Inc., parent company
of TAF. "The Athlete's Foot retail stores across the country are committed
to empowering everyday athletes, like Ta'ran, within their community to
perform at their highest level."
In Ta'ran's written essay, he expressed that he is "a competitor with a big
heart, a lot of pride, and a will to win." He also mentions how his coach's
spirit and dedication to the game drive him to practice hard, so games come
easily. In the future, Ta'ran is hoping that his practice does make
perfect -- or at least gives him the chance to play sports at a collegiate
level. Currently, he is focusing on football, but also is looking forward
to other sports this school year including basketball and rugby.
"I'm a huge fan of the Denver Broncos, and I'm really excited to meet
Brandon Stokley," commented Ta'ran when notified of his prize. "I can't
wait to talk to him about what it was like playing for his prior teams,
especially the Indianapolis Colts, and what it takes to become a
professional football player."
Stokley won a championship ring in Super Bowl XXXV as a team member of the
Baltimore Ravens. In the Super Bowl game, he caught three passes for 52
yards, including a 38-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.
Stokley, also a former player for the Indianapolis Colts, exemplifies how
hard work pays off. On December 26, 2004 during his time as a Colt, he
received the record-breaking 21-yard touchdown pass for Peyton Manning in
the hunt to break Dan Marino's record of 48 touchdown passes in a season.
That season was his breakthrough season, ending with 68 passes caught for
1,077 yards, 10 touchdowns, and an average of 15.8 yards per catch.
Ta'ran Leopold and Brandon Stokley will meet on Tuesday, October 23, at The
Athlete's Foot store located at 716 16th Street, Unit 1 in Denver, CO.
There, Stokley will make a public appearance and sign autographs from 6:00
to 7:30 p.m. and will meet Ta'ran to learn more about his goals and present
him with a gift card prize from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m.
"It is very exciting to have the ability to offer a local community
athlete, like Ta'ran, the opportunity to meet one of his sports idols,
Brandon Stokley, at our very own TAF store," said Zach Monks, local
franchisee, The Athlete's Foot. "Encouraging athletes of all ages to set
and achieve performance goals is something we always strive for as a local
footwear retailer, and we're thrilled to see our goal being achieved with
this meet-and-greet session."
The TAF "In My Shoes" campaign, which the retailer launched in late July,
invited students ages 13 to 18 nationwide to submit written or video
(YouTube) entries stating their performance goals for the new school year.
Local winners, selected from participating TAF stores, will receive a $75
TAF gift card.
In addition to the Denver event with Brandon Stokley, nine other regional
winners have won the opportunity to meet pro athletes from their
communities, including:
Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle
-- New York Knicks forward David Lee
-- Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn
-- Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown
-- Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna
-- Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward
-- Houston Texans running back Ahman
Green
-- New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston
One national winner will have a one-on-one coaching session with one of the
top professional athletes in the country. The winner and athlete will be
announced by late October.
About The Athlete's Foot (www.theathletesfoot.com)
The Athlete's Foot® (TAF) is the world's first franchisor of athletic
footwear stores and is recognized today as the world leader in athletic
footwear franchising. Robert and David Lando opened the first The
Athlete's Foot store in 1971 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first
athletic footwear specialty store of its kind in the United States. Soon
thereafter, TAF began franchising domestically, with the first franchise
store opening in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The first international franchise
store opened in 1978 in Adelaide, Australia, the beginning of TAF's
expansion into over 45 countries. In June 2007, NexCen Brands launched a
global re-branding effort for TAF. Plans for reinvigorating the 36 year-old
brand to include an innovative new modular merchandising system, new
in-store design, a modernized company logo, and a line of TAF branded
apparel.
About NexCen Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ : NEXC ) (www.nexcenbrands.com)
NexCen Brands, Inc. is the premier 21st century brand acquisition and
management company focused on assembling a diversified portfolio of
intellectual property-centric companies operating in the consumer branded
products and franchise industries. The Company owns, licenses, franchises
and markets a growing portfolio of consumer and franchise brands including
The Athlete's Foot®, Bill Blass®, MaggieMoo's®, Marble Slab
Creamery®, Pretzel Time®, Pretzelmaker® and Waverly®. The Company
licenses and franchises its brands to a network of leading retailers,
manufacturers and franchisees that includes every major segment of retail
distribution from the luxury market to the mass market in the U.S. and in
over 50 countries around the world, and consists of more than 1,500
franchised stores. NexCen, through its information technology and
franchisee support systems and advertising, marketing and public relations
team, markets its brands to continually drive greater consumer awareness
and brand equity for each of its brands. NexCen touches nearly every aspect
of a consumer's lifestyle from the food they eat to the furnishings in
their homes and the clothes and footwear they purchase.