When the bus pulls up Saturday afternoon at New Meadowlands Stadium for the U.S. Soccer team’s match with Argentina, it will mean more than just an outing for high performing students from New Jersey’s North Star Academy. The trip will mark the kickoff of Kumho Tire’s salute to those who are high performers, no matter what their backgrounds or origins — just like Kumho’s founders.
“At Kumho Tire, we believe in high performance,” says J.B. Kim, CEO/president, Kumho Tire USA. “We build it into our products, and we encourage it in our people.” The kickoff events reflect the company’s core values and goals. Kumho Tire began in 1961, making 20 tires a day. Now, it is one of the top tire manufacturers in the world.
“We know what it means to start small and win big through a dedication to excellence,” says Kim. “That’s our story, and we want to see it repeated wherever we do business. So, as we expand further into the U.S. market, we’ll be focusing on high performers and helping them on their way.”
Prior to game time, Kumho will treat the students to a parking lot tailgate event featuring food and a high performance car display provided by members of the Exotics Rally where the students will get to interact directly with the car owners, learn about the performance technology they have in their vehicles, sit in their cars and take pictures. Fans that arrive to the game early are welcome to visit the high performance car display and talk to the car owners as well.
Kumho Tire is involving North Star students both to honor their achievements and to show them what a lifetime of high performance can bring. “Being around top performers is contagious,” says Rick Brennan, Kumho’s vice president of marketing. “We’re going to show these children where high performance can lead them — and reinforce their desire to be among the best.”
Kumho has also launched the High Performers Challenge Contest where one individual could win a new Hyundai Sonata, which recently received a top mid-size sedan rating from Consumer Reports. Fans are invited to predict which team will win, what will be the final game score, what is the last name of the player that will score the winning goal and what minute of the game will the winning goal is scored. The contest is open now through 7:00 p.m. EDT March 26, 2011. To enter, text “KUMHO SOCCER” to 77577 or visit www.DriveKumho.com/soccer.
