Area High School Student to Meet Texans' Ahman Green at The Athlete's Foot in Katy, TX
Israel Adedipe Named Regional Winner of Retailer's In My Shoes Contest
| Source: NexCen Brands, Inc.
HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - October 12, 2007) - Israel Adedipe was searching online for
scholarship opportunities when he came across a website promoting The Athlete's Foot (TAF)
back-to-school contest which invited teens nationwide to share their goals
for the upcoming school year. Israel submitted a written entry to the In My Shoes contest outlining his
ambition to make the honor roll. This week, The Athlete's Foot announced
that the aspiring scholar is a regional winner of the contest and will
receive a TAF gift card and a personal meet-and-greet with Houston
Texans running back Ahman
Green on Monday, October 15th at the TAF store in Katy, Texas.
"The Athlete's Foot is committed to helping our customers reach their
highest level of performance, both on and off the field," commented Robert
W. D'Loren, President and CEO of NexCen Brands, Inc., TAF's parent
company. "The In My Shoes contest aimed to help students identify and
articulate their goals and to set them on the path to achieving them. We
are pleased to put winners like Israel in contact with great athletes who
will serve as an inspiration to them."
Texans running back Ahman Green is a fitting role model for Israel Adedipe.
A scholar-athlete, Green was the two-time recipient of academic all-state
honors growing up in Nebraska. To earn that recognition, he maintained an
A average in high school while participating in his sport. Green went on
to play at the University of Nebraska, where he was an honorable mention
for the Academic All Big 12 Team, which recognized athletes who achieved a
3.0 grade point average or better while playing football. Drafted by the
NFL in 1998, Green is working toward finishing his college degree in
Geography.
"I can't believe I won!" commented Israel when he was informed he had the
winning entry. "I've been working really hard to achieve my goal and am
hoping to see that it's paid off when report cards come out this semester.
Though my sport is basketball, I'm looking forward to meeting Mr. Green and
talking with him about how he balanced school and his interest in sports."
Ahman Green and Israel Adedipe will meet on Monday evening, October 15th at
Israel's local Athlete's Foot store in the Katy Mills Mall, 5000 Katy Mills
Circle, Suite 215, in Katy, Texas. There, Green will sign commemorative
photos provided by The Athlete's Foot for the public from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
and will meet Israel and present him with a gift card prize from 7:30 to
8:00 p.m.
"One of the things I enjoy most about running a TAF store is the connection
we have with our local community," said Don Odom, local owner of multiple
Houston-area TAF locations. "I'm pleased to unite this young man with an
athlete who shares his dedication to academic success, and to offer our
customers the opportunity to meet an outstanding pro athlete from our
area."
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 Houston event with Ahman Green, nine other regional
winners have won the opportunity to meet pro athletes from their
communities, including:
-- Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis
-- Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward
-- New York Knicks forward David Lee
-- Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn
-- Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley
-- Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna
-- Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown
-- Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle
-- New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston
The Athlete's Foot is thrilled to contribute a percentage of the proceeds
from memorabilia sales at each regional meet-and-greet to The Achilles Track Club's
(ATC) Achilles Kids program (www.achillestrackclub.org), which enables
young people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream
athletics, to promote personal achievement, enhanced self esteem and the
lowering of barriers between people.
One national winner will have a one-on-one coaching session with one of the
hottest 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 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.