St. Louis, MO – Aacer Sports Flooring and the Naismith Hall of Fame teamed up down the street from the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis to see the tremendous talent featured in the Hall of Fame Showcase on November 17^th, 2009.  In the first game, the Louisville Cardinals downed the Arkansas Razorbacks 96-66 in a game that was closely contested until the Cardinals pulled away early after halftime.  The second game was a dandy, with the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks surviving a scare from the upstart Memphis Tigers, 57-55.  Some highlights:

·         Aacer attended a mixer at the Anheuser-Busch factory with the Hall of Fame, which included many Hall of Famers (see list below) and the coaches from the competing teams.  Anheuser-Busch treated their guests with class, granting tours and picture opportunities with the famous Clydesdales, along wonderful hors d’oeuvres.

·         Aacer revealed their new brand image, handing out comfortable long sleeve t-shirts to fans in the VIP hospitality suite in the depths of the ScottTrade Arena before the games.

·         At halftime, Aacer was proud to be in attendance as a sponsor when the following Hall of Famers were honored at halftime of the Kansas/Memphis game:

o   Rick Barry

o   Walt Bellamy

o   Denny Crum

o   Harry Galatin

o   Gail Goodrich

o   Cliff Hagan

o   Ed Macauley

o   Bob Pettit

o   Eddie Sutton

o   Dick Vitale

o   Lenny Wilkins

o   Lynette Woodard

Virginia High School’s (Bristol, VA) gym floor was recently replaced with materials from Aacer Flooring courtesy of the workmanship of Recreational Plus from Richmond, VA.  The floor 29 year-old floor had water damage and dead spots in various areas which necessitated its replacement, but the old floor had played host to significant events and people over its lifetime. 

In addition to daily use by thousands of Virginia High School students, it played host to perennial prep power Oak Hill Academy players who went on to major college and NBA careers: Carmelo Anthony, Michael Beasley, Kevin Durant, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Rajon Rondo, Jerry Stackhouse, and Rod Strickland, to name a few.  In 2008, it also hosted a famous politician and former basketball player during a campaign stop.  Then-presidential nominee Barack Obama delivered an address from center court. 

The floor system installed is AacerChannel, using Aacer’s new Tri Power pads and 1^st grade maple.  The Tri Power pads are made from EPDM rubber, have excellent load handling, provide tremendous uniformity of play, and emit low vibration.  This pad update to AacerChannel offers the best combination of shock absorption, environmental stability, uniformity of play, and rolling load capability on the market.  AacerChannel is used by the following basketball programs: Iowa State University, the University of Arizona, the University of Louisville, Middle Tennessee State University, the College of Charleston, and for the Charlotte Bobcats, to name a few.

The floor was installed by Aacer-accredited installer Recreational Plus out of Richmond, VA.  Aacer and Recreational Plus hope to help the careers of future Virginia blue-chip players with this performance floor installation!

Chris Wedge

Southern Regional Manager

USMC

Gov. Rick Perry today thanked veterans for their selfless sacrifice and service to our country. The governor spoke at a ribbon cutting at a home built by the Bay Area Builders Association Support Our Troops (BABASOT) for veteran Sgt. David Worswick. BABASOT helps disabled veterans by building more accessible homes to accommodate their injuries.

“America is blessed to have such courageous souls in our midst, wearing our nation’s uniform and standing guard over us,” Gov. Perry said. “I commend the Bay Area Builders for helping pay back at least some of the great debt that we, as a nation, owe those who sacrifice to secure our freedom.”

Worswick was on a mission to confront insurgents in Assadabad, Afghanistan, when his convoy was ambushed, and his vehicle was struck by a road-side bomb. He was thrust head first into the windshield and knocked unconscious, and later awoke to an intense fire fight. Uncertain of what happened, Worswick immediately attended to an injured fellow Marine, helping to keep him alive.  

After returning to base camp, Worswick lost consciousness and learned he had suffered post concussion syndrome. An immediate evacuation was ordered, and he was flown to Bagrahm Air Base and eventually back to the United States. Worswick has had numerous spinal surgeries, and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and hearing loss. He was medically retired from the Marines in July 2007.

Aacer was proud to be part of this fantastic event and it is our way of giving back to those who have sacrificed the most. Aacer donated the wood flooring for the custom built home. Aacers Pre-finished 3 1/4″ Northern Hard Rock Maple was selected.

Aacer Flooring is especially proud of our latest college reference, LSU’s University Recreation (UREC) Student Recreation Complex Gymnasium and Indoor Track.

The 25,000 square-foot gym floor is the tested and proven AacerCush II floor system.  It uses 2^nd and better grade maple over two layers of ½” plywood with ½” thick recycled rubber pads mounted once every square foot.  The “Eco” pad provides great shock absorption at a moderate price and is composed of 90% post-consumer recycled material.  This allows for good environmental stability and uniformity of play.

The floor was installed by Aacer-accredited installer Sports Unlimited out of Stillwater, OK.  Aacer and Sports Unlimited are very happy to help the LSU recreation community in their recovery efforts. 

Please read more at: http://www.lsu.edu/urec/html/gym_construction.html

Chris Wedge

Southern Regional Manager