Dayton, OH – Sports Image®, a leader in the high school sports and grassroots marketing industry, announced that it has awarded its recent franchise to Mary Jane (MJ) Wardle of The Villages, FL with many more potential inquires from around the United States.  Ms. Wardle joins 10 other existing franchises awarded by Sports Image® in just its eighteenth month of franchising.  Ms. Wardle is also the first military veteran to join the Sports Image® team as a franchisee.

“We’re excited to have MJ join our team,” said Eric Horstman, President of Sports Image®. “She has a proven history of running a past business and a true passion for sports as an administrator and an athlete.  Her past work with the American Cancer Society as a Communications and Marketing Director also fits nicely into our model. She used to sell Home Care Assistance in the cancer society. She will make a fine addition to our franchise network.”

Since 2002, Sports Image® has been helping high schools and other grassroots organizations to obtain state-of-the-art equipment and much needed revenue for their athletic programs as budgets are drying up nationwide. Through its’ unique sports marketing concepts and existing relationships, Sports Image® has given over $600,000 in cash and over $7,500,000 in equipment to schools and organizations in the United States and in Canada.

“Integrating my passion for sports and grassroots organizations with business ownership is a dream-come-true for me.  I can’t wait to “team up” these organizations with businesses in a win-win scenario.  My education and experiences in sports, non-profit and military organizations both in the United States and overseas, will be beneficial to everyone,” stated Ms. Wardle.

Ms. Wardle joins fellow Sports Image® franchisee, Bill Wood of Palm Bay, FL.  Now with two Sports Image franchises in Florida, statewide schools have the ability to tap into the Sports Image® programs quickly and professionally.

“I am very excited to welcome MJ to the Sports Image® franchises and I look forward to partnering with MJ to help schools and grassroots organizations across the entire state of Florida,” exclaimed Mr. Bill Wood.

“We’ve been in business for 9 years helping schools and organizations but just recently turned our model into a registered franchise opportunity in the summer of 2009.” said Horstman.  “We are on pace to have 15 franchises operating across the country by the end of 2010.”

MJ Wardle can be contacted by phone at (352)350-4486 or by e-mail at mj@sportsimageinc.com.   Bill Wood can be reached by phone at (321)329-5709 or by e-mail at BillW@sportsimageinc.com.

Sports Image® (www.sportsimageinc.com) was founded in 2002 in Franklin, OH with the purpose of helping high schools and other grassroots organizations to obtain state-of-the-art equipment and much needed revenue for their athletic programs.  In addition, Sports Image® also founded and manages Flyin’ to the Hoop (www.flyintothehoop.com), a Top-Ranked National High School Basketball Event that pumps over $1.4M into the local Dayton, OH community annually. For more information, contact us at 937-704-9670 / eric@sportsimageinc.com or follow us on Face book, Linked-In and Twitter.