Press Conf. Oct. 20th 12:30 p.m. Chicago Announcing USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo as National Spokesperson for Merchants Information Solutions; Introducing Colangelo’s Book ‘Return of the Gold: The Journey of Jerry Colangelo and the Redeem Team’
CHICAGO, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ — NBA and Olympic icon Jerry Colangelo’s childhood town Chicago is the setting for a press conference introducing the U.S. Olympic gold medal basketball team builder’s new book about the Beijing Olympics, “Return of the Gold: The Journey of Jerry Colangelo and the Redeem Team” and his new role as national spokesperson for Merchants Information Solutions, a leader in background screening and the only company that has the Tescor Pre-employment Integrity Survey designed to avoid high-risk hires.
The press conference is set for October 20, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Mississippi room, 301 E. North Water Street, Chicago, IL 60611
Colangelo’s new book tells the story of American basketball hitting rock bottom on the world’s Olympic stage. The global perception of NBA players had reached an all-time low. Team USA lost three times, disgracing the nation at the 2004 Olympics. With great historical sweep, the book includes the voices of all-time greats like Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Julius Erving and Jerry West. The book charts the path of Jerry Colangelo, a great sportsman who set out to change the stained image of USA Basketball. And with great insight and fresh detail, it shows how two of the best players in history – Kobe Bryant and LeBron James – spun their own tails of redemption while winning gold medals.
Merchants CEO Russ Johnson’s quest to find an ideal national spokesperson that represents integrity at every level went “gold” with the signing of Colangelo, a University of Illinois alum and former Chicago Bulls junior executive. Colangelo, winner of the NBA’s Executive of the Year honor an unrivaled four times, founder and first owner of the World Series winning Arizona Diamondbacks, former owner-chairman of the Phoenix Suns until selling the team for a then-record $401 million in 2004 will initially focus on Merchants Tescor Pre-employment Integrity Survey–a powerful tool that screens out high-risk employees. Tescor is proven to reduce workers compensation costs by 60% on average, reduce stealing, workplace hostility and other liabilities.
“Our business is all about integrity and trust demonstrated by our integrity screening to protect large employers from bad hires. Jerry Colangelo has a national and international reputation for integrity at the highest levels and he has the understanding of how large organizations need to select the right ‘players’ if they want to win,” said Johnson. “All of us need a gold medal level team to win in business. Jerry showed us all how to do it in Beijing and his book tells us how,” Johnson said.
Merchants online Tescor Pre-employment Integrity Survey, Colangelo’s initial focal area is proven to: reduce workers compensation costs by an average of 60%, reduce unemployment claims payouts by 30%, and reduce stealing, workplace violence and other high risk behaviors. Merchants provides over 600,000 surveys to employers annually.
“Your team and integrity are everything in business: who you do business with and who is in your organization. Merchants has this amazing tool-the Tescor Integrity Survey-that really helps organizations avoid costly hires. These important abilities to help business and the integrity found at Merchants and in the CEO are why I’m proud to be on the team as a national spokesperson,” Colangelo, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, said.
MEDIA NOTE: Colangelo & Johnson available for one-on-one interviews after press conference.
About Merchants Information Solutions: Founded in 1912, Merchants is a leading provider of low-cost, on-demand pre-employment background screening solutions including the exclusive Tescor Pre-employment Integrity Survey, the online, instant results screening tool in 21 languages that reduces Workers Compensation costs by an average of 60%, reduces unemployment costs by 30% and reduces workplace stealing, hostility and fraud. Merchants is also a national leader in residential background screening with technologies that conduct tenant screening in minutes to empower landlords. Merchants is also the leader in identity theft recovery and protection solutions, helping to support the risk management objectives of financial institutions, associations, employer groups, and the automotive industry, by offering revenue opportunities through fee-based subscription services. For more information, visit www.merchantsinfo.com.
SOURCE Merchants Information Solutions