Small Business Owner From Panama City, Florida Wins Promotion To Put
Company Logo On Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy At
Atlanta Motor Speedway
BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 5, 2009--
Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products
and services, announced today that Dragon Dojo Martial Arts® of
Panama City, Florida, has been named the fifth annual “Official Small
Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot.”
Dragon Dojo Martial Arts® owner Shihan Robert Wiest
was introduced by Office Depot during a press event this morning at
Atlanta Motor Speedway. Wiest, 44, was joined by Tony Stewart, driver of
the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy Impala SS and team owner of
Stewart-Haas Racing; Norris Scott, Managing Director of Partnership
Marketing and Business Solutions at NASCAR®; Brett Frood,
Executive Vice President at Stewart-Haas Racing; and Ivan Reed, Senior
Manager of Campaigns and Sales Promotions for Office Depot.
Wiest, who opened Dragon Dojo Martial Arts® in 2001 and has
grown his business from an initial enrollment of two students to more
than 150 today, helped Stewart unveil the special edition No. 14 Office
Depot/Old Spice Chevy featuring his company’s logo. The logo – an
eye-catching red dragon – will make its on-track debut during the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series™ Pep Boys Auto 500 race at Atlanta Motor
Speedway (Sunday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m. EDT, ESPN).
“Our business is about helping people learn to help themselves and stand
strong on their own,” said Wiest, who operates Dragon Dojo Martial Arts®
alongside his wife, Susan Wiest. “Both NASCAR and martial arts
require a high level of focus and training, and we are so excited to
reach a larger audience and more fans as the ‘Official Small Business of
NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot.’”
Stewart, who has taken on the dual role of a driver/team owner with
Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009, said he was excited to provide an
opportunity for a small business to gain exposure in front of a national
audience.
“Building a successful business takes a lot of hard work and dedication,
which is something I’ve learned firsthand over the years,” Stewart said.
“The Office Depot ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR Sweepstakes’ is an
amazing chance for a small business owner like Shihan Robert Wiest to
get his company’s name out there, and I’m very proud to have the Dragon
Dojo Martial Arts logo on my car this weekend.”
About The Winner: Shihan Robert Wiest, owner of Dragon Dojo Martial
Arts®
Wiest, whose title “Shihan” is a martial arts designation for an expert
or senior instructor, said he prides himself on providing a healthy and
affordable activity for people in today’s challenging economy. His
students range from ages 3 to 60, and many are dedicated NASCAR®
fans.
Wiest received 159 online nominations from friends, family and students
after entering the “Official Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of
Office Depot” sweepstakes at OfficeDepotRacing.com.
“We passed out fliers to everyone at the dojo for nearly a month telling
them to go to OfficeDepotRacing.com and vote for us,” Wiest said. “They
were very excited about the possibility of seeing the Dragon Dojo
Martial Arts logo on the back of Tony Stewart’s car.”
Wiest learned about the sweepstakes after making copies at Office Depot
and reading about the promotion on the bottom of his receipt. Wiest
estimates that he and his wife visit their local Office Depot store 3-4
times a week to stock up on supplies and makes copies for their business.
Prize Package
As the “Official Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot,”
Dragon Dojo Martial Arts® (http://www.dragondojo.com/)
will receive invaluable exposure on national television, and the
company’s logo will be featured on the rear panel – also known as the TV
panel – of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy during this weekend’s
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ Pep Boys Auto 500 race at Atlanta
Motor Speedway.
In addition to logo placement on the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice
Chevy, the “Official Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot”
prize package includes the following:
-
A $14,000 Small Business Makeover from Office Depot
-
VIP race experience at the September 4-6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™
race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway
-
A private coaching session with NASCAR® executives,
including an insider’s look at the business of NASCAR
-
$1,400 copy & print services card from Office Depot
-
$1,000 worth of business cards and stationery from Office Depot
-
One year of Tech Depot™ Services Tech Support
-
The use of the “Official Small Business of NASCAR®, Courtesy
of Office Depot®” logo until June 1, 2010
“The Office Depot ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR’ promotion really
connects with its target audience through Tony Stewart, a hardworking
small business owner like so many NASCAR fans,” said Norris Scott,
Managing Director of Partnership Marketing and Business Solutions at
NASCAR. “In demonstrating Office Depot's commitment to NASCAR fans and
small business owners, Office Depot continues to improve on one of the
most creative and effective national promotions in the sport.”
Additionally, because Office Depot is focused on doing everything it can
to help small business owners not only survive but thrive in these tough
economic times, the “Official
Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot” sweepstakes
featured an exciting new component this year that allowed more than just
one small business to win big. Every day during the promotional window,
one lucky small business owner was awarded a $1,400 Office Depot gift
card.
“Office Depot is proud to recognize and reward an outstanding small
business owner like Shihan Robert Wiest, especially in today’s
challenging economic climate,” said Chuck Rubin, President of North
American Retail for Office Depot. “The Office Depot ‘Official Small
Business of NASCAR’ promotion is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and
we look forward to helping Robert leverage the fantastic marketing power
of NASCAR in his business. We were also so pleased to be able to assist
more small business owners this year by giving away a $1,400 gift card
every day during the promotion entry period.”
About Office Depot
Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of
customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as
Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to
its customers through 1,593 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales
force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.3 billion e-commerce operation.
Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $14.5 billion, and
employs about 42,000 associates around the world. The Company provides
more office products and services to more customers in more countries
than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or
through affiliates in 47 countries.
Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional
press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the
sanctioning body for one of North America's premier sports. NASCAR is
the No. 1 spectator sport – holding 17 of the top 20 highest attended
sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport
on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and
in 20 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports,
and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than
any other sport.
NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series,
NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four
regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as two
international series. Also part of NASCAR is Grand-Am Road Racing, known
for its competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars.
NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30
U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR
has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.),
Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City, and Toronto.
Source: Office Depot
For Office Depot, Boca Raton
Edelman for Office Depot Racing
Lisa
Schmitz, 312-240-2604
Lisa.Schmitz@Edelman.com
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