National Arts Education Conference
Aims at Arts for All
Reston, VA, May 15, 2006 --
Abrakadoodle, national headquarters to the nation’s fastest
growing children’s art education company, held its 2nd annual
conference May 5-7 at the National Conference Center in
Lansdowne, Virginia. Attended by nearly 65 franchisee owners,
the conference featured sessions designed to help owners move
from the launch phase to
the winning phase in their respective businesses. Attendees
received several new training DVD’s, a new Operations Manual,
new collateral, as well as a Curriculum Assistant tool to
dramatically improve the efficacy of running the company’s core
programs. A new educational product, Gallery Cards, was debuted
at conference as a value-added benefit to Abrakadoodle customers
and an innovative means to extend learning at home. A highlight
of the weekend event was the keynote presentation by Joe Watson,
CEO of Strategic Hire. Among the awards conferred during the
event, Abrakadoodle presented its Portland, Oregon franchise
owners Stephanie and Dan Hascall with its top “Purple Tree
Award” for overall excellence.
In its second year of franchising, Abrakadoodle has experienced
marvelous growth, nearly doubling its US franchise presence with
65 franchises in 30 states and serving many thousands of
children with creative art classes. Mary Rogers, Co-Founder &
CEO, painted the Abrakadoodle picture in her opening address,
saying, “We launched into franchising just two
years ago in May, and I am so proud of where we are today. Our
company is ranked in the Franchise 500 and was named one of 50
‘Top New Franchises’ by Entrepreneur Magazine.” Rogers
reiterated Abrakadoodle’s philosophy, “Every child has the
potential to become a creative individual.” To that end, Ms.
Rogers announced Abrakadoodle’s Arts for All Awards
program, which will award $500-$1,000 grants to outstanding
Abrakadoodle programs serving at-risk, under-privileged and
special needs populations. The initial awards will be granted at
Abrakadoodle’s 2007 national conference. Select Abrakadoodle
locations will also be participating in an art contest sponsored
by Binney & Smith’s Crayola brand as part of
its respected Dream-Makers program kicking off in June 2006.
Abrakadoodle (www.abrakadoodle.com) classes deliver
comprehensive art experiences that immerse students in a broad
landscape of activities including painting, collage, sculpture,
mosaics, and more. The magic behind Abrakadoodle is the creative
energy between a child and his/her art materials ignited by a
well-trained teacher. Artist Lori Schue, author of the popular
book series Artworks for Kids, and educator/award-winning
franchise developer Mary Rogers, M.Ed, created Abrakadoodle’s
imaginative national curriculum.
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