As part of its ongoing efforts to support the U.S. Armed Forces, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:TRK) unveiled on Sunday its plans for Welcome Home Patriots, an initiative to improve the lives of active and post-servicemen and servicewomen.
Welcome Home Patriots is designed to close the gap between the military community and the civilian community by partnering with companies whose mission is to give back to America's troops after their careers in the U.S. Armed Forces - and to provide a welcoming race-day VIP experience for them at SMI's world-class motorsports facilities from coast to coast.
The initiative is designed to provide three tangible benefits:
· Salute - Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families will be thanked for their courage, commitment and sacrifice in part with unique race-day experiences.
· Engage - Civilians will be included in the initiative as a means to strengthen the military-civilian relationship and create a better understanding of common values.
· Enable - Connections to job and service providers will assist, advise and facilitate needs as military members transition back to civilian life.
"When a soldier enters training, the concept of individual is replaced with the concept of team," said Speedway Motorsports, Inc. President and CEO Marcus Smith. "After active duty, transitioning back to civilian society as an individual can be challenging. Our goal with Welcome Home Patriots is to bridge that gap and let these American heroes know they are supported and appreciated."
Leading the charge in the Welcome Home Patriots initiative will be Speedway Motorsports' new Vice President of Armed Forces Affairs, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Chuck Swannack. A 1971 graduate of West Point and a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Swannack served more than three decades in the Army, culminating as the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne division at Fort Bragg and leading his troops in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After supporting children in need for the last five years as the executive director of Speedway Children's Charities, Swannack looks forward to his next mission - supporting veterans.
"I am honored and humbled to be given this opportunity with Speedway Motorsports," Swannack said. "Our nation's brave servicemen and servicewomen deserve to come home and enjoy life to its fullest. With Welcome Home Patriots, we'll work to ensure that ambition becomes a reality and aggressively establish partnerships with companies who are as passionate about supporting the military as we are."
-30-
About Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. is a leading marketer, promoter and sponsor of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates the following premier facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway. The Company provides souvenir merchandising services through its SMI Properties subsidiaries; manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars and parts through its U.S. Legend Cars International subsidiary; and produces and broadcasts syndicated motorsports programming to radio stations nationwide through its Performance Racing Network subsidiary. For more information, about the company, please visit the Speedway Motorsports website.
This news release contains forward-looking statements, particularly statements with regard to our future operations and financial results. There are many factors that affect future events and trends of our business including, but not limited to, economic factors, geopolitical conditions, weather, the success of NASCAR and others as sanctioning bodies, capital projects and expansion, financing needs, and a host of other factors both within and outside of management control. These factors and other factors, including those contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from management's views and expectations. Inclusion of any information or statement in this news release does not necessarily imply that such information or statement is material. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly revised or updated forward-looking information, and such information included in this news release is based on information currently available and may not be reliable after this date.
