Soccer Moms Connect, Save Gas with New Zelephone Group-Wide Voice ...

Tag : Automatic Call
SPOKANE, Wash. - (Business Wire) Automaticcall-everyone-on-your-list phone services have been used by coachesand teachers for years. But today the first system providing groupsof busy parents practical social network communication via phone,email, and web was introduced by startup The Zelephone Company. Thecompany is advised by the former/founding chairman of ESPN.
The company, whose slogan is "friends don't let friends use phonetrees," has introduced a service for groups of busy parents whowant to ensure everyone can be contacted via phone and email at amoment's notice (such as when schedules change). Groups have aprivate web page for sharing private documents (such as teamrosters). Group members can contact everyone with one phone call,and get voice replies back (to coordinate carpooling, for example).
"Carpooling to games is important with these gas prices, so beingable to make one call on Saturday morning that lets every parent onour team know if I have, or need, an extra carpool seat is abenefit to everyone," said Lori Cunningham, a Cheney, Washingtonmother of two youth sports participants whose team recently signedup for the service, who also plans to use the new service with herPTO group.
The largest youth sports organization in eastern Washington hassent over 4,000 calls so far. "The Zelephone service has been atime saver, and a great way to improve communication betweencoaches and parents. We adopted it for all 800 youth sports teams.Corporate sponsors are providing the service free to our fallsoccer, baseball, and football programs," said Philip Helean,Executive Director of SYSA in Spokane.
Groups get 35 free calls when they signup. Additional calls can beadded for as little as 7 cents per call ($21 for 300 calls), or inincrements as small as $5. Some groups ask a sponsor to pay forongoing service (the sponsor gets a 2-3 second "provided by"acknowledgment after each outgoing message).
The 'beta' service is available at http://www.zelephone.com/ . The company also announced today that regional sports, scouting,theater, and religious organizations representing approximately2,200 groups have adopted the service. See http://www.zelephone.com/news/2008-09-03a.pdf .
ABOUT THE ZELEPHONE COMPANY
The Zelephone Company is a Spokane, Washington venture led byPardner Wynn, who created the first web SAT-prep course atwww.testprep.com, and founded Docent, Inc. which has grown tobecome one of the largest publicly-held e-learning companies(nasd:SUMT). Stuart Evey, the original chairman of ESPN, is thecompany's principal advisor. The company is headquartered inSpokane, Washington.
Zelephone is a trademark of The Zelephone Company.
The Zelephone Company
Pardner Wynn, President,
cell: 509-995-2015,
work: 509-228-8977 ext 502,
fax: 509-931-3333,
pardnerw@zelephone.com