Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex Opens the Milk House
2001 Scholar Milk Mustache of the Year
Winners Toast New Athletic Arena
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex Opens the Milk House
Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk honored 25 of the country's most gifted high school athletes at the Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) awards ceremony to open Disney's Wide World of Sports new Milk House athletic arena.
The 25 talented teens joined Hawk to raise a glass of milk to toast the new Milk House arena at Disney's Wide World of Sports(TM) Complex as well as celebrate milk's designation as the official training fuel of the complex. The Milk House pays homage to the famous milk mustache campaign and is the centerpiece facility of the complex.
"Milk's designation as the official training fuel at this premier athletic facility, along with the opening of the Milk House, will help drive home an important nutrition message to the thousands of athletes who come here to compete each year," said Kurt Graetzer, CEO of the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP). "Athletes and active people need the nine essential nutrients in milk to help keep their bones and muscles strong, which are vital to being a strong competitor and overall good health."
The college-bound teens were chosen from more than 9,000 applicants for their academic excellence, athletic prowess, leadership skills and community involvement and will each receive a $7,500 college scholarship and a starring role in a Milk Mustache ad in USA Today, Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine.
The 25 star senior athletes were selected by celebrity judges Cal Ripken, Jr., Pete Sampras, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk and Kurt Warner for their outstanding achievements and contributions in the classroom, on the playing field and in their community.
"The SAMMY award, now in its fourth year, acknowledges more than teens who are academically gifted and athletically strong, it also recognizes kids who make smart choices, like drinking milk," Graetzer said. "Milk's nutrients also are particularly important for teens, whose bones are in one of their peak growth periods, and this year's SAMMY winners know that."
Teens Need Milk
The National Academy of Sciences recommends teens get 1,300 mg of calcium a day, the equivalent of about four eight-ounce glasses of milk. But nearly 9 out of 10 teenage girls and almost 7 out of 10 teenage boys fail to get enough calcium in their diets. By recognizing these talented high school athletes through the SAMMY program, the milk industry hopes to inspire other teens to opt for healthier beverage choices and begin to reverse the nationwide teenage "calcium crisis," and spread the word that, with its powerful package of protein, vitamins and minerals, milk can help restore and re-energize active teens after a tough workout.
The 2001 Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year winners
are:
| Anne E. Martin | Auburn, ME |
| Spencer Gerrol | West Hartford, CT |
| Austin Smith | Midlothian, VA |
| Lynn Dwan Freeman | Atlanta, GA |
| Eric Michael Czervionke | Ponte Vendra Beach, FL |
| Nancy Tom | Staten Island, NY |
| Christina H. Chen | Charleston, WV |
| Erin L. Macbeth | Murfreesboro, TN |
| Ashley Elizabeth Turek | Adrian, MI |
| Meagan Kempen | Bruce, WI |
| Jared Brooks | Petersburg, IL |
| Eric Nou | Eden Prairie, MN |
| Laura Thompson | Marion, IN |
| James Matthew Quigley | Lenexa, KS |
| Ashley Annette Grace | Blair, NE |
| Laura Heji | Abbott, TX |
| Ryan R. Davis | Shelby, MT |
| Pete Mecham | Shelley, ID |
| Jacob R. Hicks | Las Vegas, NV |
| Kim Kilmer | Merino, CO |
| Jesse Anderson | Alto, NM |
| Eric Wu | Glendale, AZ |
| Nathan Love | Gold Hill, OR |
| Alicia Andrews | Clarkson, WA |
| Shelley Nicole Sorger | Beverly Hills, CA |
The SAMMY scholarship is given once a year to 25 top college-bound high school senior athletes. Information on the 2002 SAMMY award program will be available in the fall. For more information on this year's contest or other contests and events log onto the milk Web site at www.whymilk.com.
Disney's Wide World of Sports (TM)
Spread over some 200 acres, Disney's Wide World of Sports(TM) complex hosts more than 150 professional and amateur competition and training events in 30 sports each year in the heart of Walt Disney World® Resort. The state-of-the-art facility includes nine venues and is home to more than 40 Amateur Athletic Union national championships, Atlanta Braves spring training, Orlando Rays minor league baseball, the Harlem Globetrotters holiday series, the only permanent version of the NFL Experience and the Official All Star Cafe®.
The National "got milk?"®Milk Mustache Campaign is jointly funded by America's milk processors and dairy farmers: the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board in Washington, D.C., and Dairy Management Inc., Rosemont, Illinois. The goal of the multi-faceted campaign is to educate consumers on the benefits of milk and to raise milk consumption. A series of educational brochures is available by visiting the milk Web site at www.whymilk.com. Bozell New York is the creative agency for The National "got milk?"®Milk Mustache Campaign.
The tagline "got milk?"® was created for the California Milk Processor Board by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and is licensed by the national milk processor and dairy producer groups.
-- Posted June 26, 2001
Source: Company Press Release