The Fayette Citizen-Sports Page
Wednesday, September 16, 1998
Magnetic schedules scam locals

By MICHAEL BOYLAN

Sports Editor

Would you like to have your businesses name advertised on a magnetic schedule ? How about those cute, little footballs that the cheerleaders throw out at halftime ? Not your cup of tea ? What about a poster of the football team with your company's ad on the bottom ?

If you own or work in a local business, you probably get asked this question by every school in the area, before every sports season begins. The problem that you face now is determining which one's are legitimate or not.

A company in Texas that goes by several names; National High School Sports Marketing or Sports Promotion, calls area businesses and says they are working with the school booster clubs or cheerleaders in putting out a magnetic calendar or poster, as a fund-raiser. The cheerleaders do not have the funds to put out the schedules but your advertising makes them free of charge to the school, students and parents. What they don't tell you is that they aren't really working with the booster clubs and that the schools have no knowledge of this company or their venture.

Greg Stillions, Athletic Director and Assistant Principal of McIntosh High School, says this type of thing has happened a few times this year. " A doctor's office in Peachtree City thought they were buying some ad space on the footballs the cheerleaders throw out. When they received the invoice, McIntosh was spelled with a K and they realized something was fishy."

McElroy Pest Control also purchased some ad space and then never received any word about the products. They received the bill though and paid it, only to find out later that the school had nothing to do with it and the company that sold it to them cannot be tracked down.

When this reporter called the 800 number on the invoice, they did not answer with National High School Sports Marketing, just National Marketing. Rachel, the girl on the phone, explained that they have over two hundred different projects going on at the same time, hence her confusion. She explained that the magnets are done after making a contact with someone like a cheerleading sponsor. They offer ad space to the business, which pays for the production of the magnets and then gets free advertising on all of the magnets. The magnetic schedules are shipped to the school which then distributes them at the school to students or at the sporting events to fans. The problem in this situation is that McIntosh had no knowledge of this company, their product or this promotion.

The one name that National Sports said they had contacted in all of these calls is McIntosh's cheerleading coach, Dana Camp, who has no idea how they got her name. But in this day and age, the information is there for the taking. Through a little research or time on the Internet, names of thousands of coaches and athletic directors are readily available. Schools are the perfect cover for disreputable companies like these because they do a lot of fund-raising, local businesses are used to getting asked for donations and advertising each year and who feels trepidation helping out a school and their athletic program, especially if it will benefit your company in the long run.

" I feel bad that these companies are tricking local businesses and using my name . I know the companies that I go through," Camp says. "I know they are professional and reputable. I get confirmation letters and faxes and am in constant communication with them."

The way to stop these types of scams is simple, call the school and speak with the athletic director or principal. They know about all the fund-raising going on and have put their O.K. on all the legitimate ones. If you are interested in advertising or donating to the school athletic programs, you can call and find out what promotions they are running and with which company.

" The schools are so grateful to the local businesses. We are not the only school that does fund-raising and I'm sure that we're not the only school that something like this has happened to," Stillion said. "The schools can't afford to have businesses hurt by scams like this and businesses can ill afford it as well. Please call the schools if you are approached about a venture like this."

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