FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2005
State Farm®, FHSAA join to promote sportsmanship in Florida's high schools
GAINESVILLE – In a new partnership designed to promote sportsmanship and recognize schools and individuals who exemplify it, the Florida High School Athletic Association today announced State Farm Insurance Companies® as the sole sponsor of the State Farm® Sportsmanship Program and the FHSAA’s new Play Strong. Play Hard. Play Fair. sportsmanship campaign.
“This is an exciting relationship because State Farm exemplifies the same values of teamwork, sportsmanship and citizenship that our more than 175,000 student-athletes learn through their participation in interscholastic athletics,” Dr. John A. Stewart, Commissioner of the FHSAA, said in making the announcement. “State Farm has a superb reputation as a corporate citizen on the national, state and local levels. The FHSAA is fortunate to have State Farm join with us in this important endeavor.”
State Farm has more than 2,900 employees, agents and agents’ staff in Florida and is the state’s largest insurer of homes and automobiles. Its Florida zone office is located in Winter Haven.
“Good sportsmanship fits perfectly with State Farm’s ‘good neighbor' philosophy,” said Joe Formusa, State Farm Senior Vice President. "The value of sportsmanship is understated in today's sporting arena. By encouraging students to play strong, play hard and play fair we empower them to be not only good sports but also good neighbors.”
The State Farm Sportsmanship Program will be conducted on both statewide and grassroots levels. As a major corporate partner of the FHSAA and sponsor of the Play Strong. Play Hard. Play Fair. sportsmanship campaign, State Farm will have a visible presence at all FHSAA Finals state championship events, and will be recognized during preliminary playoff rounds on the district and regional levels through the campaign itself, which will consist of “how to” sportsmanship manuals, posters, flyers, public-address announcements and other media. Locally, State Farm agents will have the opportunity to partner with FHSAA member schools in their respective communities to recognize student-athletes in the various sports programs who best exemplify sportsmanship throughout the season.
State Farm’s sponsorship also will extend to the FHSAA Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Awards, which annually recognizes deserving schools in each classification that best exemplify sportsmanship throughout the school year. The awards are named for Fred E. Rozelle, who was Commissioner of the Association from 1980 through 1991.
A statewide contest to name the FHSAA’s new sportsmanship campaign was conducted during the 2004-05 school year. Play Strong. Play Hard. Play Fair., which was submitted by Jeremy Brenner, a student at Southeast High School in Bradenton, was selected from 25 submissions as the winner. Brenner, who will be a senior this year, received two guest credentials to the FHSAA Finals event of his choice and an FHSAA Finals goody bag, and was recognized at the FHSAA Awards Luncheon in June.
“The Florida School Boards Association, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and the FHSAA earlier this year proclaimed the 2005-06 school year to be the year of sportsmanship,” Stewart said. “The FHSAA Board of Directors and office staff places a strong emphasis on sportsmanship and that is reflected in our newly adopted four-year strategic plan. Our partnership with State Farm will make it possible for us to implement the initiatives necessary to achieve our goals and objectives that pertain to sportsmanship.”
Jacksonville-based Youth Sports Marketing LLC, the official marketing agency of the FHSAA, negotiated the partnership. Youth Sports Marketing President/CEO Steve Berrey handled the negotiations.
About the FHSAA
Headquartered in Gainesville, the Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 720 middle and senior public and private high schools. More than 175,000 student-athletes annually participate in one or more of the FHSAA’s 28 championship sports programs. More information is available at www.fhsaa.org.
About State Farm
State Farm insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 76,000 employees serve nearly 73 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No.18 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm™.ca.
Contacts:
Laurel Ring
Communications Coordinator, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 350
lring@fhsaa.org
Tom Carroll
Marketing Analyst, State Farm Insurance
(863) 318-2334
Steve Berrey
President, Youth Sports Marketing
(904) 714-9067
mrhischool@comcast.net
