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

the schools if you are approached about a venture like this."

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