The National Association for Female Executives and the WNBA Announce Partnership

The National Association for Female Executives and the WNBA have formalized a community partnership at the national level to jointly support a national mentoring initiative and to provide opportunities for women to get together in a fun and exciting environment to network, meet new people and learn. NAFE and the WNBA share a common goal--reaching, motivating and inspiring women to realize their goals in their careers and in life. Did you know that seventy-eight percent of fans in WNBA arenas are women? This partnership may help increase membership in NAFE and can help increase exposure for NAFE programs in general.

WNBA games are fun and exciting and not just limited to basketball enthusiasts. All kinds of women come for a variety of reasons; to support a women��s professional sports league, to watch great basketball, to network, to have a ��Girls Night Out��, to do business with clients, to expose a young girl to the WNBA and its players and most important, to have fun!! NAFE members can activate this partnership by teaming up with your local WNBA team to support our national mentoring initiative called ��Take a Girl to a Game Night��. As a new WNBA Community Partner, NAFE members can receive discounted tickets to this game and may be recognized in the arena on the PA system and/or Jumbo-tron. An added bonus is that taking a girl to a WNBA game will cost less than taking her to the movies.

��Business women have sought appropriate arenas for entertaining clients, and what better place than a WNBA game?�� said NAFE President Betty Spence. ��NAFE members from around the country also will enjoy going together as an informal networking activity and supporting their favorite team.��

"Women business leaders across the country have been ardent supporters of the WNBA," said Val Ackerman, WNBA President. "This partnership with NAFE will allow us to capitalize on the natural link between achievements by women in business and the WNBA, both of which symbolize a dramatic shift in attitudes about women in our society."

**NAFE and WNBA partnership can offer you a myriad of possible additional benefits, depending on the level of your group's local participation:

WNBA player and/or coach appearances at group events

Speakers to address the group prior to games �V members can stay for the game

Meeting space for NAFE events prior to games (dependent upon the teams�� space availability) �V members can stay for the game

WNBA player-led and/or coach-led basketball clinics

Concourse tabling at WNBA arena (to distribute program and recruitment information)

Participation in pre-game ball exchange with WNBA players

Behind-the-scenes arena tour

On-court activity (scrimmage, honorary ball person, etc.)

Fundraising opportunities (auction items availability, etc.)

**Exact benefits to be negotiated between WNBA teams and local NAFE networks

NAFE is asking all local affiliates with proximity to a WNBA team to take advantage of this great opportunity by calling a WNBA representative to discuss the details of this partnership. Don��t delay! Many WNBA teams are already making plans to host special nights for other groups and want to give NAFE chapters special priority. Please schedule these meetings as soon as possible by calling the WNBA team contact listed for your local area on the attached sheet.

NAFE Contact	WNBA National Contact
Melissa Wahl: Executive Director	Karin Buchholz: Director of Fan Development
(212) 351-6448	212-407-8657
Email address: Email address: Mwahl16@aol.com	Email address: kbuchholz@wnba.com