For Immediate Release (May 14, 2008) - Maria Stefan, whose 25-year career in national and international sports marketing includes a stint as Executive Director of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers' Association (SGMA), has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Camp Champs, LLC, the company announced today.
In addition to guiding the SGMA during her 20 years atop that organization, and co-founding the United States' largest sports products trade show, Stefan's storied career also includes service as President of Ellesse, USA, a sports apparel and footwear firm. Stefan, who is also a former board member of the Women's Sports Foundation, currently serves as President of ChaseAmerica, a retained executive search firm placing senior management and C-suite executives into private and public companies. She is also an Associate Professor of Sport Management at Spain's Instituto de Empresa, a leading European business school.
"We are pleased and honored that an industry leader like Maria, with incredibly extensive experience and contacts, has accepted the invitation to join our board," says Julie Peck, President, Camp Champs. "Naturally, Maria's guidance and leadership will be invaluable, and we are particularly looking forward to leveraging her proven strengths in brokering industry partnerships.
"Additionally, having spearheaded industry donations of more than $50 million to community sports development projects, Maria obviously has a strong commitment to cause-related marketing, a strategic approach we strongly value."
"I have been impressed with Camp Champs' business plan and strategic positioning since first learning of it earlier this spring, and am pleased to align myself with such a well-thought-out approach to meeting a clear and demonstrable need in the marketplace," says Stefan. "Service is often a wholly overlooked component in the area of sports marketing, and this company has clearly established its intention to dominate in this area.
"Additionally, the makeup of the management team encompasses a variety of experience that is broad, deep, and uniquely focused on the category they've entered. Their on-the-ground experience is unparalleled in this area, and has obviously already enabled them to make an impressive debut in their category."
Stefan, an alumna of Temple University and the Harvard Business School, is based in the West Palm Beach, Florida area.
Camp Champs provides online marketing and camp registration services to collegiate sports coaches and other camp organizers. The company, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, currently has more than 30 collegiate coaches on its roster, providing various services and products to these coaches. For more information on Camp Champs, please visit www.campchamps.net. For information on Investment, business development and other opportunities, contact Joe White by phone at (864) 283-4000, or jwhite@campchamps.net, or Curt Westlake by phone at (864) 616-3900, or cwestlake@campchamps.net.
