EDITOR'S NOTE: News Bytes reports on topics of interest to everyone involved in franchising. Short items are invited for submission but cannot be acknowledged nor returned.

IFA’S VETERAN’S ASSISTANCE PROGRAM WINS COVETED SUMMIT AWARD	WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2008—The International Franchise Association (IFA) has received one of the six 2008 Summit Awards from the American Society of Association Executives for its Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative (VetFran), the IFA announced today. “We are honored to win the coveted Summit Award,” said Matthew Shay, IFA president and CEO. “This award validates the hard work by our members and staff to provide opportunities to help former military personnel achieve the American dream of small-business ownership. We are grateful that the ASAE committee recognized the many contributions that franchising makes to our society." ASAE serves approximately 10,000 associations that represent more than 287 million people and organizations worldwide. Each year, up to 50 associations are selected to receive the ASAE Associations Advance America Award of Excellence for improving the quality of life in America today. This year, 38 organizations were selected in three rounds. The six Summit Award winners, including IFA, were chosen from this group. To honor those men and women who have served in the U.S. military, VetFran was developed to help them transition to civilian life. The idea of the late Don Dwyer Sr., founder of The Dwyer Group, VetFran is a voluntary effort of IFA member-companies that is designed to encourage franchise ownership by offering financial incentives to honorably-discharged veterans.
ULTRA FRANCHISING HOSTS FREE SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTING 3 TOP FRANCHISES - SAT. JULY 26TH & SUN. JULY 27TH FROM 10AM TO 6PM AT THE MARRIOT, 301 S. MARKET STREET, SAN JOSE, CA	Three premier franchises will be presented & discussed every hour on the hour with no obligation at the Marriott Hotel, 301 S. Market St., San Jose, CA on both Saturday July 26th & Sunday July 27th, from 10AM to 6PM. These 3 franchise opportunities focus on the Educational, Digital Print & Children’s Entertainment fields; all in virtually recession proof industries. Chyten Educational Services, a supplemental education and tutoring service, focuses on subject tutoring, one-on-one SAT & ACT test prep, & college counseling programs. Chyten, New England’s premier tutoring & test prep company has 20+ years of dedicated experience in providing students with lifelong learning skills. Minuteman Press Int’l is the #1 printing & graphics franchise with almost a thousand centers across the globe. Entrepreneur (Jan.2008) once again rated Minuteman as the number one printing franchise in this industry. With a proven track record & 30+ years of experience, Minuteman is one of the most well-regarded business-to-business franchises. Little Scoops is the sweetest party place in town! With interactive games, activities, & a private party facility, Little Scoops provides parents with everything they need to host a great celebration. As family incomes increase, today's youth represent an enormous & growing market.
SIGNS NOW® ANNOUNCES GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP	SARASOTA, Fla. (July 23, 2008)—Signs Now, a Division of Allegra Network LLC, recently announced a new corporate partnership with Edwards Global Services, Inc. (EGS). EGS CEO William Edwards is working in conjunction with the Signs Now corporate team to bring the signage and graphics franchise company into international markets outside of North America. “Our goal for Signs Now is to help them realize the full global potential of their franchise,” explained Edwards. “This is the time for Signs Now to expand internationally. The most desired franchises around the world today are strong, well- operated service franchises, especially those with the B2B focus. Signs Now, as part of the Allegra Network group, is well positioned for global growth." EGS comes to Signs Now using more than 85 years of Partner global executive experience, expertise, knowledge, professional network and proprietary, trademarked processes. The companies assists many diverse clients realize the full global potential of their businesses. Since 2001, EGS has published GlobalVue™, a comprehensive survey which ranks more than 50 countries as places to do business, based on experience, surveys, plus constant literature and on-the-ground research. “As a company, we are all very excited at the prospect of taking our growth beyond the United States and Canada,” remarked Signs Now President Steve White. “EGS brings a vast amount of knowledge and expertise to the table and was an obvious fit for the execution of our goals in international growth and development.”
IFA OUTLINES DANGER OF GEORGIA COURT RULING	WASHINGTON, DC, July 21, 2008—The International Franchise Association (IFA) has filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the case of Atlanta Bread Company International, Inc. v. Sean Lupton-Smith to help the Georgia Supreme Court understand the importance of this case to the franchise business model in Georgia. “The case presents an important opportunity for the franchise community to clarify Georgia law on the nature and scope of in-term covenants, which ensure that all franchisees are aligned with the marketing and operational plans of the franchise system,” said David French, IFA vice president of Government Relations. “Franchisors need assurance that they will be able to protect and maintain their trademark, trade name, confidential information, methods of operation and goodwill, among other things, during the term of the franchise relationship. Franchisees share an interest in knowing that fellow franchise operators will not be branching off into competing businesses.” The lawsuit involves in-term, non-compete restrictions in an Atlanta Bread Company (ABC) franchise agreement. At the trial level, the court applied a very strict standard to in-term covenants and ruled that the ABC non-compete was unenforceable. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling. IFA believes that the lower courts erred in evaluating the in-term restrictions under standards more appropriately applied to post-term limits. This case is important to preserving the franchise model, French said, because the lower court’s ruling, if allowed to remain as is, could render unenforceable the in-term restrictive covenants in the vast majority of franchise contracts for businesses operated in Georgia, including many of the most well-known and respected franchises in the world.

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