Dayton, OH – October 2011 – Sports Image®, a leader in the high school and youth sports marketing industry, has just awarded their 15th Sports Marketing Franchise to Mr. Tom Carmichael of Midlothian, VA. This is the second franchise awarded in the state of Virginia. Mr. Carmichael joins fourteen other existing franchises in ten different states awarded by Sports Image® in just its first two years of franchising.
Since 2002, Sports Image® has helped schools and organizations obtain state-of-the-art equipment and much needed revenue for their athletic programs as budgets continue to dry up nationwide. The program has zero cost to the schools and organizations. Through its’ unique, grassroots sports marketing approach and by leveraging existing relationships, Sports Image® has given over $800,000 in cash and over $10,000,000 in equipment to schools and organizations throughout the United States and in Canada.
When asked about his purchase, Tom quickly states: “I had enough of Corporate America. I wanted a business opportunity for myself. Sports Image® gave me that chance two years ago as a project manager. Over those two years I was able to help many schools in my backyard to get equipment and revenue for their athletic programs. I was hooked – making money and doing ‘good’ for school sports programs was just what I was looking for. I then purchased my own Sports Image® franchise as part of that ‘American Dream.’ With Sports Image’s® winning game plan, I can now have a positive impact on sports in my community as my own business owner helping to ‘take the pay out of play.’”
“Tom is going to be a great addition to our growing Sports Image® franchise network,” said Mr. Eric Horstman, President of Sports Image®. “He is unique in the fact that Tom has actually been a sales rep with us for the past 2 years. He believes in our mission enough that he wanted to own his own territory and become a franchisee to get the best of both worlds – business owner and helping his local communities.”
“Sports Image® is the first national franchise to market through youth sports. We’ve been helping schools, clubs, community Parks and Recs, churches, and other youth organizations offset Pay-to-Play for over 10 years. In July 2009 we franchised our organization to put vested business owners on the groundfloor in local markets across the country,” said Mr. Horstman. “We are on pace to have over 20+ franchises operating across the country by spring of 2012.”
