Below please find the OTS Logistics Group newsletter. To the extent that this constitutes a “commercial electronic mail message” under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 an opt-out option is made available to you at the end of the newsletter.

Bárbara Martinez
Public Relations
OTS Logistics Group
news@otslogisticsgroup.com

Vanguard Logistics S.A Soccer Cup 2006, Brazil

► The inside story on the Vanguard Logistics South American Soccer Cup

► The award ceremony

► Team Profiles:

• Argentina

• Brazil

• Chile

► The scores match by match
 

EXCLUSIVE!! The Inside story on the Vanguard Logistics
South American Soccer Cup 2006

Scoop! You will not be able to find this information in any of the World Cup magazines.

Vanguard Logistics held its first ever inter-regional South American Soccer cup in Brazil on the 3^rd of June. Teams from the Vanguard Logistics offices in Argentina, Brazil and Chile participated in the spirit of friendly, but intense, competition. 

The teams from Argentina and Chile arrived into Brazil on the afternoon of Friday, June 2nd and stayed at the "Estan Plaza Funchal Hotel" in Sao Paulo. As an indication of the seriousness with which the participants took this tournament, the members of the teams overrode their natural instincts to immediately explore the interesting aspects of Sao Paulo, choosing instead to spend the afternoon planning tactics and strategy for the games to be the held the following day.  “They surprised me”, said Hal Donahue, who represents the region at the Executive Committee level, “although I should have been able to predict it. The team members were chosen for their focus on whatever task is at hand and they clearly demonstrated this with the intensity of their planning”.

On Saturday morning, both teams met in the hotel lobby before getting on a bus to head to the venue just outside Sao Paulo. Outwardly friendly words were exchanged but there was clearly an undercurrent of friendly tension in the air in anticipation of the forthcoming tournament.

On the bus the tension intensified as the members of both teams started to voice their opinions on the likely outcomes of the games.  From the ensuing heated debate, it was obvious that the occasion was going to provide an outlet for the pre-existing, mostly good natured, regional rivalries.  There was a lot of singing to cheer the teams and jokes were told by all.  This was a great environment and you could clearly tell that the staff were excited and ready to play. 
 

After an hour’s journey, the bus arrived at “Serra do Mar”, a beautiful complex surrounded by grass, trees and lakes.  The complex included facilities such as a swimming pool, the football field, a karaoke and game room, changing rooms, a stage, kitchens, and kayak equipment.

The teams were greeted by their colleagues from the Vanguard Logistics offices in Sao Paulo, Santos, Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre.  The Brazilian team arrived and with the three teams together, the battle for the cup was about to begin.

On the field, I could not help but notice that the Brazilian flag was higher than the other two. It seemed to some that this was unfair use of the home court advantage by the local team, designed to intimidate the other teams.  The 'Fair Play' flag was there as well just to clarify that this was to be a good natured competition.

As the teams changed into their football clothes, the guests and their families began to arrive. Approximately 300 people attended the event, most of them customers and partners who had been especially invited to attend this special Football Cup. Among the customers present were: Caterpillar, Dupont and Industrias Romi. Among the partners were: Kuhne & Nagel, Bachmann/Ecotrans, EGL, Expeditors, UTI and APL Line. 

This was truly a family event and many guests brought their children to enjoy the playgrounds and the activities that were organized for them.
 

Paulo Tonello, (GM VLS Brazil) & Mr. Arnoud (Caterpillar)
 

According to the draw, the first game to be played would be Argentina vs. Chile, the winning team on the first match would then play against Brazil.

OTS Logistics Group Chairman, Mr. Owen Glenn arrived to join the event and visited with the VLS staff from Argentina, Brazil and Chile prior to the start of the matches.
 

Mr. Glenn, Camila Duarte with her son Pedro and Hal Donahue
 

Priscilla Verzini (VLS Brazil) and Mr. Owen Glenn
 

Mr. Glenn and Julio Abarca (VLS Chile)
 

The first game started at noon and it promised to be an exciting match.  After a pitched but evenly matched game, the Chilean team prevailed by defeating Argentina by 4 goals to 3.

After the game, the players threw themselves in the warm grass for some rest while the smell of the barbecue started to spread.  The guests moved to the dining areas for lunch before the second match started.  The players rested and recovered in preparation for the next matches. 

After lunch, it was time for Brazil to face Chile in what was sure to be another exciting match.  The Brazilian team received last minute instructions from their General Manager and Coach, Mr. Paulo Tonello.  The game was another heated but good natured battle with the hometown Brazilian team prevailing by 3 goals to 2.   

The last match of the day was to be the highlight with Argentina scheduled to face Brazil in this traditional regional football rivalry.  All eyes were on the match and the spectators cheered as the players battled on the field.  Brazil once again prevailed with an 8-2 victory to become the holder of the first Vanguard Logistics Cup.

Champagne was poured and everyone raised their glasses to toast the new Champions.

“The rivalry and the friendliness displayed shows me why South America is one of our best performing geographical regions”, Mr Glenn, Chairman of OTS Logistics Group said, as he gave a nod of approval to the way the event had been conducted and attended. “While Brazil may have won the cup, the ultimate winner today was the spirit within our group, which strives to find a balance between competition and team work. The analogy with our work place where we need to learn to build on each other’s strengths is striking”. Mr Glenn continued, “Sport and Business share some common characteristics and that is why this sort of event is an important part of our corporate culture”.

 The Ceremony

wen Glenn and Paulo Tonello officiated the awards ceremony.

Mr. Glenn then announced the first award for "The best player" of the tournament to Leandro Piazza from VLS Argentina.  In his speech, Mr. Glenn recognized that deciding the winner of this award had been difficult as all players had done a great job.

Owen Glenn and Leandro Piazza

The award for “The Best Goalkeeper” was presented to Vitor Veiga from VLS Brazil for being the keeper who allowed the fewest goals in the tournament.

Owen Glenn and Vitor Veiga

Awards were also presented to the referees as thanks for their participation and excellent job on the field.

Next were the team medals and Mr. Glenn asked the Argentine team to step forward to receive their 3rd place medals.  They stood on the podium, as the Argentine national anthem started to play.

Finally, the Brazilian team was called forward to receive 1^st place medals as the winners of the Vanguard Logistics Cup.
 

Once the results had been announced and the medals awarded, the Cup was presented to the new champions, VLS Brazil.
 

The podium with VLS Brazil and the cup

Before the ceremony ended, there was a drawing to select the next country to host the Vanguard Logistics South American Cup 2007.  VLS Argentina was selected so the teams will face each other again for the Cup in Buenos Aires in 2007.  They  have a tough standard to meet if they are to host and organize the event as well as VLS Brazil did in 2006.

 Team Profiles

This would not be a complete inside story without the complete profiles of each team:

ARGENTINA

Argentina

The Argentine team was composed by:

Alejandro Retamosa
Commercial Manager
Age : 35
Nickname : "Pochoclo" ("Pop Corn")

Leandro Piazza
Account Executive
Age : 32
Nickname : "Ariano Loco" ("Crazy Ariano")

Luis Diviño
Import Operations
Age : 24
Nickname :"Luisinho"

Matias Coto
Administration
Age : 21
Nickname : "Astilla" (Splinter)
 

Osvaldo Areta
Systems
Age:40
Nickname : "Ozzy"

Roberto Gimenez
General Manager
Age : 44
Nickname : "Abuelo" ("Granddad")

Rodolfo Coto
Financial Manager
Age : 36
Nickname : "Corchman"

The Argentinean Team

BRAZIL

Brazil

The Brazilian team was composed by:

Aldo Pires
Operative Export Assistant
Age : 34
Nickname :"Aldinho Paulista"

Caio Salles
Commercial Manager
Age : 36
Nickname :"Bochecha" ("Cheek")

Emerson Castilho
Sales Representative
Age : 31
Nickname : "Gente Fina" ("hey body")

Giovani Marcondes
Warehouse
Age : 37
Nickname : "Gigio"
 

Gustavo Lima
Sales Representative
Age : 24
Nickname : "Carioca"

Lucas Leite
Sales Representative
Age : 31
Nickname : "Bebe" ("Baby")

Vitor Veiga
Operative Import Assistant
Age : 22
Nickname : "Pit Bull"

The Brazilian Team

CHILE

Chile

The Chilean team was composed by:

Andres Ritter
General Manager
Age : 40
Nickname : "Andrew"

Cristian Mendieta
Airfreight Division
Age : 28
Nickname : "Matador"

Hugo Figueroa
Export Supervisor
Age : 31
Nickname : "El Pulga" ("The Flea")

Jorge Lobos
Senior Account Executive
Age : 33
Nickname : "Tiro Loco / Cururo" ("Crazy Horse")
 

Julio Abarca
Financial Manager
Age : 40
Nickname : "El Chino" ("Chinese")

Omar Molina
Import Operations
Age : 28
Nickname : "El Camion" ("The Truck")

Oscar Paz
Operations Manager
Age : 30
Nickname : "Oscarinho"

The Chilean Team

 The scores match by match

There were certainly many goals in this cup and here is a detail of the scores on each match:

Argentina vs. Chile (3 - 4)

Hugo Figueroa (Chile)
Leandro Piazza (Argentina)
Leandro Piazza (Argentina)
Hugo Figueroa (Chile)
Cristian Mendieta (Chile) 'Auto Goal'
Cristian Mendieta (Chile)
Oscar Paz (Chile)

Brazil vs. Chile (3 - 0)

Aldo Pires (Brazil)
Aldo Pires (Brazil)
Giovani Marcondes (Brazil)
 

Argentina vs. Brazil (2 - 8)

Giovani Marcondes (Brazil)
Aldo Pires (Brazil)
Giovani Marcondes (Brazil)
Leandro Piazza (Argentina)
Gustavo Lima (Brazil)
Luis Diviño (Argentina)
Giovani Marcondes (Brazil)
Aldo Pires (Brazil)
Caio Salles (Brazil)
Giovani Marcondes (Brazil)

Well done VLS Brazil, the OTS Logistics Group South American Cup Champions!!! 

Forwarding of this newsletter in its entirety or in part with proper attribution is welcome. If this was forwarded to you and you would like to receive this newsletter, please visit www.otslogisticsgroup.com or send an email to the webmaster. This newsletter is distributed to our current customers. Your information has not been shared with a third party. If you would like to unsubscribe please send an email to news@otslogisticsgroup.com with the title "REMOVE" and you will no longer receive this information.

OTS Logistics Group
857 East 230th Street
Carson, CA 90745