Home Depot has hired 116 Olympic athletes from the
U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, "more than all the other 50 or
so companies" in the official Olympic Jobs Opportunities
Program (OJOP) employed combined, according to David
Leonhardt of the N.Y. TIMES. The company, "one of the few
big successes" in OJOP, is using the athletes' presence "not
to increase sales in a national advertising campaign, but to
pump up employee morale." Home Depot has "spread" the
athletes among its 958 North American stores, where local
managers "enlist them to motivate" current Home Depot
employees and attract new ones. The athletes autograph
their co-workers' aprons, and those who have won medals
"show them off" at company parties. Company managers call
the athletes "real-life examples of corporate nostrums like
'going for the gold' and 'giving it your all.'" Home Depot
Senior VP/Marketing Dick Hammill, on the athletes: "They're
disciplined. They're on time. ... It rubs off." The
athletes work "about 20 hours a week for about" $400 and
spend "the rest of their time" training. In return for
their pay, Home Depot's athletes take a public role as
"company cheerleaders." Home Depot is planning its first
commercial featuring an Olympian, and the setting "is
expected to be a ... party a store gives to wish good luck
to an athlete on the way to an event" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/12).
KNIGHT MOVES: USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand profiles
SOCOG CEO Michael Knight and writes that despite "concerns"
from various protestors and unions surrounding the Sydney
Games, Knight's "low-key stance will continue." Knight
said, "People should only know about us if something goes
wrong" (USA TODAY, 4/12).
MOVING ON: USOC CEO Norm Blake announced that CFO John
Samuelson has resigned, effective July 1 (WASH. POST, 4/12)
