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"The nation’s brewers have consistently demonstrated a commitment to responsible alcohol consumption and the efforts of the TEAM Coalition in stadiums across the country."
--- Jeff Becker, President, Beer Institute
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For Immediate Release |
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Contact: Jill Pepper, 703-741-0276 |
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(Houston, TX) -- "Responsibility Has Its Rewards" is the message
to baseball fans as Major League Baseball, the 30 clubs, and the
TEAM Coalition join forces to continue to educate fans about the
importance of responsible drinking, always buckling up, and
designating a sober driver. Fans who act responsibly could be
rewarded with World Series tickets or a trip to next year’s All-Star Game.
TEAM Coalition – an alliance of professional sports, entertainment
facilities, concessionaires, the beer industry, broadcasters,
governmental traffic safety experts, and others working together
to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports
and entertainment facilities – has coordinated a league-wide promotion
in support of existing designated driver programs. TEAM and its partners
are rewarding fans for responsible behavior.
"Fan safety in the ballpark has always been a top priority for MLB," said
Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. "We believe that this partnership
is an excellent program that emphasizes fans' safety to and from the ballpark."
TEAM and its partners are sponsoring the Responsibility Has Its Rewards contest.
Each fan who pledges to be a designated driver at any Major League Baseball
game can register for a drawing to be selected as that club’s designated
driver for the season. The selected designated drivers for the two clubs who
play in the 2004 World Series will each receive two tickets to their club’s
first home Series game.
One designated driver for the season from a club that does not play in the
World Series will be chosen at random to win a trip to the 2005 All-Star
Game in Detroit (two game tickets, airfare, and hotel accommodations).
The contest will begin in all MLB ballparks immediately. Official contest
rules are available at www.teamcoalition.org.
TV and radio public service announcements are being broadcast nationwide.
The TV spots use a Major League Baseball umpire as the spokesman to emphasize
how important teamwork and following the rules are to success on the field
and how that translates to responsible fan behavior in the stands and on the roads.
At 2004 MLB All-Star Game, NHTSA recognizes MLB, TEAM Coalition and partner
organizations for reaching fans with traffic safety messages. L to r: Jeff Becker,
President Beer Institute; Jill Pepper, Executive Director TEAM Coalition; Jeffrey
Runge, M.D., Administrator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Bob DuPuy,
President MLB; Michael Thompson, Senior Vice President Aramark; Denise Singer,
Director ESPN ABC Sports.
“This promotion continues MLB’s support of the Clubs’ efforts to encourage
responsible fan behavior, similar to the effort carried out in May for safety
belt use. And for the fans, it is a great reminder that responsibility has its
rewards,” said Jill Pepper, Executive Director of the TEAM Coalition.
NHTSA Administrator Jeff Runge said, "I commend Major League Baseball and all
the clubs for taking a leadership role to promote the designated driver program.”
NHTSA recognized all TEAM Coalition members for their efforts in promoting traffic
safety messages through the Click It or Ticket campaign in May and now Responsibility
Has Its Rewards launching with the MLB All-Star Game.
The designated driver program offers fans a solution to the problem of how to get
home safely after drinking at the game. The designated driver is the person who
chooses to stay sober, drives everyone else home safely, and makes sure everyone
buckles up. “This program shows how MLB, TEAM, the concessionaires, and breweries
can all work together to implement successful awareness programs,” added Jeff Becker,
President, Beer Institute.
A recent survey conducted by Data Development Corporation shows that the Designated
Driver concept is well known in America. Nearly all Americans (94%) are aware of
the concept. More importantly, the role of Designated Driver is being assumed by
millions of Americans (122 million people have either been a Designated Driver or
have been driven home by one). Nearly all Americans (98%) believe that Designated
Drivers help save lives.
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