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Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Community Success Continues

June 4, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators Community Outreach Programs during the 2008-09 season continued to build on the strong foundation set in place during the team's first six years in Gwinnett. Through a renewed and reinvigorated partnership between the Gladiators and their fans, the team's community efforts during the past year were a tremendous success.

"Despite a somewhat ragged economy," said Gladiators Director of Community Relations Jim Hall, "our fans proved once again to be some of the most generous and dedicated in the ECHL."

More than 200 various donations of team merchandise and gifts were made to local schools, churches, and non-profit organizations during the year. Team representatives made more than 175 appearances in the North Georgia community, including team mascot "Maximus" and various Gladiators players on-site at community fairs, festival parades, schools, and corporate events. Area schools and other youth associations continued to support themselves through the team-sponsored collaborative fund raising programs, resulting in a whopping $42,000 through Gladiators game ticket sales, National Anthem performances, and Community Nights.

The Gladiators Elementary School "Hat Trick for Reading" program, presented by Suwanee Dental Care, continued to promote reading in schools throughout North Georgia. Over 125 local public, private and home school groups totaling about 77,000 elementary-level students took part in the program during the 2008-09 season. These enthusiastic young readers were given the opportunity to earn complimentary admission to Gladiators games on November 14th or November 15th by completing the reading initiative program. Expanded to include area intermediate-level school students in December, over 30 additional schools in North Georgia participated in the third annual Middle School "Hat Trick for Reading" Program.

As part of the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend campaign to benefit the local Salvation Army post and the annual "Holiday Can-A-Thon" hosted by the Discover Mills, the Gladiators organization collected more than 1,700 pounds of food donations.

A record-setting choir of over 1,000 local school children from 19 schools participated in the Gladiators 5th Annual "Sing for Santa" Children's Concert on December 12th, reaffirming the event as an enduring and cherished local community holiday tradition.

The Gladiators again teamed up with the Salvation Army and a local Foster Kids Organization for the annual "Coats for Kids" Night. Over 400 jackets and coats and hundreds of assorted personal hygiene products were donated by fans at the game helped the less fortunate. In addition, the Gladiators annual "Christmas Ornament Auction" featuring the players-own hand painted Christmas decorations raised $1,000 for the "Gladiators Foundation for Kids."

In January, the Gladiators annual "Teddy Bear Toss" was once again a huge success. More than 5,000 stuffed animals of various shapes, sizes and colors were tossed onto the ice by the fans and collected by the Gladiators. Through the early spring, 20 different local youth-based charitable organizations were the grateful recipients of these warm & fuzzy friends.

The Gladiators 2nd Annual "Pink in the Rink" weekend was held in February helping to raise money and awareness for cancer research and education. Numerous fund raising activities associated with the event raised over $53,000 during the weekend home stand to benefit cancer research and organizations. The players donned commemorative "Gwinnett Relay for Life" specialty-themed jerseys, and the Gladiators annual post-game live jersey auction alone brought in more than $33,000.

The Gladiators partnered with the Gwinnett County United Way during March as part of the Gwinnett "Sports Blitz" campaign and "Live United" Weekend, collecting over 250 children's books for the United Way's Summer Reading Program.

For the second straight season, the Gladiators finished 4th in average attendance in the ECHL. In addition, the '08-'09 squad earned their sixth consecutive trip to the Kelly Cup Playoffs - the longest-running streak of postseason appearances currently maintained by any Atlanta-based professional sports team.

At the final regular season home game on April 3rd, the Gladiators celebrated the accomplishments of area non-profit organizations by recognizing and awarding more than $32,000 in grant money from the "Gladiators Foundation for Kids"

"An active commitment to champion the cause of charitable efforts which benefit our community is a fundamental part of our team mission statement, and the Gladiators pledge to renew our efforts in the upcoming 2009-2010 season", said Hall. "With the continued support and incredible generosity of our fans and corporate sponsors, we are confident that these important community initiatives will continue to grow and prosper."

Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. The ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The league has drawn over four million fans each of the last five years and 11 times in the past 12 seasons.

The Gwinnett Gladiators open their 7th season in the ECHL in October of 2009 - season ticket packages for the 2009-10 season are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and Chicago Blackhawks and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.

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