Media Advisory
February 9, 2007
Pro Sports Wives Magazine Announces Honorees Celebrating Pro Sports Wives Day, February 11, 2007
Atlanta, GA, February 2, 2007 – Long ignored, unknown to the public, and always in the background, pro sports wives throughout the country will now have a day of recognition with the announcement of honorees for the second annual Pro Sports Wives Day on February 11, 2007.
The national day of observance was awarded to the Professional Sports Wives Association, a not-for-profit organization, by the editors of Chase’s Calendar of Events, to recognize honorees and all wives of all active and retired professional athletes, coaches, and sports executives for their support in the estimated $220 billion dollar sports entertainment industry.
This year’s award honorees include:
• Mentors of the Year: Charrisse Jackson-Jordan, President of Behind the Bench, NBA wives association; and Tammy Reid, wife of NFL Head Coach, Andy Reid.
• Philanthropist of the Year: Debbie Attanasio, wife of GM of the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Pro Sports Wives League of the Year: PGA TOUR Wives, PGA TOUR, for their outstanding contributions to charities.
• Entrepreneurs of the Year: Alison Mahay; Tatum Borowski; Karen Varitek; Kristin Mirabelli, Co-Owners of the Athletes Child, Inc., the first Arizona based children’s sports apparel boutique of it’s kind, owned by a group of MLB wives.
• Married, Female Athlete of the Year: Mia Hamm-Garciaparra, widely recognized as the world's best all-around women's soccer player, and married to Anthony Nomar Garciaparra who currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Educator and Sports Psychologist of the Year: Dianna McNab, Sports Psychologist, Life Coach, Editor of The Professional Sports Wives Magazine.
• Professional Sports Wives Association Member of the Year: Charlene Wells, MLB Toronto Blue Jays.
• Pro Sports Wives Courage Award: Deanna Favre, breast cancer survivor and advocate, and wife of NFL Player, Brett Favre.
The awards will be presented at our first national conference, Pro Sports Family and Friends Getaway at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, where players, wives, families, and friends will convene. Unknown to the pubic, and behind the scenes during a season, pro sports wives face multiple, arduous challenges to their family’s personal lives than most non-public families face in a lifetime. A staggering 80 percent of pro athletes are divorced and are a quarter of a million dollars in debt after they retire.
The purpose of Pro Sports Wives Day, the national day of observance, is to recognize the wives of professional athletes who are behind the scenes, and help support their families, charities, foundations, education, and wives' organizations in the professional sports entertainment industry.
The Professional Sports Wives Association's purpose is to unite all wives in all pro sports, and to provide resources on topics ranging from marriage support; household managing; career development; franchising, financial planning; and self-improvement for its members. The Association unveiled The Professional Sports Wives Magazine, the first of its kind quarterly trade magazine that provides wives with human-interest articles and with self-empowering articles to help them support their spouse's career.
Founder and Publisher, Gena James-Pitts is a veteran of the wives’ cause. Pitts has been married for 23 years to former NFL defensive lineman, Mike Pitts, who played for the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and New England Patriots.
The couple is targeting an untapped segment of nearly half million active and retired pro sports wives, and over 708,000 U.S. sports professionals, with even more abroad.
“Our national day of recognition gives the public and ourselves the opportunity to recognize the wives of professional athletes for the work that they do for the many teams and leagues to support their husband's career; the many charities; and the things we do behind the scenes to help in the sports entertainment throughout the year,” said Gena Pitts.
“Most fans, think that the player’s lives are glamorous, and that players, wives, and families do not have any problems that non-public families face; which is not true. In fact, we face more physical, emotional, financial, divorce, and stressful situations simultaneously that money can not solve than most people face in a lifetime,” said Pitts.
“Through the association and our magazine, pro sports wives are able to share the common threads that binds us together as sisters, as we learn from experts and mentors on how to survive multiple and different challenges we face to be better spouses and individuals, in order to contribute to support our fans, and give back to the communities and society,” Pitts said.
