Bill Crum named COO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Crum named Chief Operating Officer for Beat the Streets Wrestling, Inc.

NEW YORK, New York (January 7^th, 2011) – Mike Novogratz, Chairman of the Board of Beat the Streets Wrestling, Inc. (BTS), today announced changes in the organization's management structure.

Bill Crum, one of the organization's founders and Senior Advisor since its inception, has been named Chief Operating Officer.  He takes over program supervisory responsibilities from Brian Giffin who is leaving to pursue business interests in the Midwest.

Crum is the former Vice President of USA Wrestling where he was a board member for 20 years and a former Executive Director within the Boys and Girls Clubs of America movement.  Along with Board members Rich Ranalli and Al Bevilacqua, former Treasurer Rob Schoenberg, and others, Crum founded both the Beat the Streets movement and Beat the Streets Wrestling, Inc. beginning with a springtime club in 1999.  Novogratz joined the movement in 2003. Since that time the organization has added 35 new High School Programs and 60 Middle School programs in New York City.  Additionally, BTS sponsors several city-wide training centers in the off-season as well as a program that has sent over 2,000 city kids to summer wrestling programs over the last four years.

"I'm excited to take on the responsibility for overseeing the programs for Beat the Streets.  Bringing all that the sport of wrestling has to offer young athletes from urban neighborhoods has been the centerpiece of my professional life since 1994.  Beat the Streets has seen remarkable growth in New York City.  I look forward to working with our staff and coaches - who are our real agents of change - in giving New York City kids all the benefits that participation in the sport of wrestling has to offer."

"I want to personally thank Brian [Giffin] for all that he has done over the last 2 ½ years and wish him well in his next endeavor," said Novogratz.  "As we look to the future, we are confident that under Bill's leadership we will be able to focus on program quality while we continue to grow in both size and scope."

Beat the Streets Wrestling, Inc. works directly with the New York City Department of Education in a public-private partnership to help New York City's student-athletes achieve their athletic and personal goals.  Through the operation of wrestling programs in middle and high schools in the five boroughs, BTS and the DOE provide a safe, positive atmosphere in which disadvantaged and at-risk youth can learn the essential life lessons of personal responsibility, physical fitness, education, and teamwork. The goal of fostering strong, dedicated, and optimistic kids is delivered through tutoring, after-school programs, mentoring, and coaching. More information can be found at www.beat-the-streets.org.

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