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John Polis, Public Relations Manager

John joined Best Friends as manager of public relations in June 2007 after moving to Kanab with his rescue cat, Gracie, from Tampa, Florida. Most recently, he was manager of public relations for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the global accreditation body for business schools around the world.

John brings more than 25 years of communications experience to Best Friends, including public relations positions in the fields of education, sporting goods manufacturing, banking, computer software and professional sports.

A highlight of Johns professional life was the 12 years he spent in the world of professional sports. As director of communications for the U.S. Soccer Federation, he was the press officer for the USA mens and womens national soccer teams in five different FIFA world championship events.

Later, as director of public relations for Umbro International, a global soccer brand recently purchased by Nike, he was press liaison for the Umbro-outfitted Brazil National Team that won soccers 1994 World Cup in the U.S. He also was press liaison for the Brazil team that placed third in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

John enjoys keeping fit by jogging, biking, playing golf, cross-country skiing, and hiking. He also enjoys coaching youth soccer in Kanab; follows all sports, especially international soccer, on radio and television; and enjoys the arts. An avid traveler, he has been to Europe, Asia and Central America.

Born in Santa Monica, California, John was raised in Longview, Washington. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, he was assistant city editor and sports editor of the Daily News, his hometown paper, and later was a sports writer for the Oregonian in Portland, Oregon. A military veteran, he spent six years in the U.S. Naval Reserve, including two years of active duty during the Vietnam conflict.

John has three grown daughters. Joy is a marketing vice president in Green Bay, Wisconsin; Jillian is a physician and surgeon in Denver; and Jackie, following in her dads footsteps, is a public relations and fundraising manager for a nonprofit organization in Canberra, Australia.