If you get a call from End Zone Athletics soliciting sponsorships for Gilmer High School, athletic director Matt Johnson wants you to hang up the phone.
The Times-Courier learned last week that the Texas-based company has been in contact with multiple Gilmer businesses offering fundraising opportunities to support local sports programs.
However, End Zone Athletics (EZA) is not affiliated with, nor has it been contracted by Gilmer High to solicit sponsorships on its behalf.
In an interview last Friday, Johnson advised that local businesses should be leary of any calls or emails they receive from representatives who are not directly associated with the high school.
“Our local teams, coaches and any associated booster people would be the contacts that reach out to local businesses for sponsorships,” he said. “We truly value the support of our hometown businesses. We’re a small town, and need to take care of one another. Without their support, it would be really challenging. We’re encouraging people to not participate in fundraising opportunities from outside agencies where they’re saying they’re representing Gilmer High School.
“We don’t outsource any of this (fundraising). For this company to do so has been frustrating, and I’ve been trying to tell them to stop for several months now.”
In legitimate sponsorship arrangements contracted through proper channels with GHS booster clubs, local businesses directly support sports programs because sponsorship money is funneled back into the programs.
According to EZA’s website, it states, “We print spirit items for high schools and the schools don’t pay for anything. Businesses pay for an ad that gets printed on those desirable school items.”
It further states, “You are paying for an advertisement which enables the school to receive the items for free (and) eliminates the school from having to do fundraisers in order to receive spirit items.”
According to EZA, it keeps all sponsorship dollars and in turn provides items such as signage with businesses’ names or logos to be hung at athletic venues.
Johnson said he caught wind of the rogue sponsorship offerings “in late spring or early summer.” Local businesses reached out to Johnson to inform him they had been contacted by EZA. Businesses voiced concerns whether the sponsorship offerings were legitimate, and he ensured them they were not.
“We put out a Facebook statement at the time to let people know how we always do things and make sure we put a face to a name and it’s our people,” Johnson said.
One business owner told Johnson EZA informed him in a phone call “That for $300, he could get some T-shirts, and if he went up to the $700 range, he would get T-shirts and a banner.”
Earlier during the fall semester, Johnson received boxes from EZA at GHS that included T-shirts with local business logos on the back, as well as banners.
“Just recently, I had some banners that showed up in my office, and I reached out to EZA about these banners to get more information,” he said. “They told me they had contacted some business and gotten some sponsorship money, and there was the banner for me to hang, which is not how we do things around here.
“I reached out to them (EZA) and cut ties with them entirely so that they should not be soliciting our businesses. It looks like they’ve reached out to people for some time, but I can’t trace together exactly what’s going on with all of this. They’re doing it on their own and making promises to the business, which includes banners and T-shirts. They are sending stuff to our school, but it’s not the stuff we’re authorizing.”
Prior to Johnson taking over the athletic director position in May, Greg Burrell filled the role. Burrell said he “Was not aware” of any previous business relationship with EZA when contacted by the Times-Courier.
Johnson noted that “around 10” local businesses have purchased sponsorships through EZA for fall and winter sports programs at GHS. He said the banners and T-shirts GHS received from EZA were “cheap” in quality and have been discarded.
However, GHS will still honor sponsorship banners local businesses purchased through EZA. GHS will use its own banner provider and eat the cost.
“We’re just trying to do right by these businesses who were duped,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have banners hanging, and that’s going to be a cost these businesses don’t see. We’re going to make sure they get what they were told by that company. We’ve got great people in our booster clubs and coaching staffs and they want to do right.”
Any business contacted by EZA or similar companies are encouraged to inform Johnson at GHS. He can be reached at 706-276-5080.