Retired Army Airborne Ranger Seizes Maid Brigade Franchise, Purple Heart Veteran Considers Award His Latest Honor

ATLANTA--(Business Wire)--
Bronze Star Medal with Valor Winner. Recipient of a Purple Heart, campaign
medals for Kosovo and Iraq and numerous Meritorious Service Medals. Those
descriptions all apply to Major Philip Thomas Piaget. Now one more honor has
been added: Gold Award in the Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Giveaway.

Piaget, of Crestview, Fla., won the company's contest in time for Veterans Day
2009. The father of four retired from the Army in September after serving 20
years as an Airborne Ranger and entered the franchiser's national contest the
same month, noting that his life as a leader of infantrymen and that of a
quality Maid Brigade franchisee have much in common. Compared to his daunting
combat and diplomatic assignments surrounding the efforts to quell sectarian
violence and insurgent attacks on Coalition Forces in Iraq, his road to
franchise ownership was smooth.

Piaget and the five other veterans who made it to the final phase of the contest
underwent intensive scrutiny on Nov. 4 and 5 at Maid Brigade headquarters in
Atlanta. Throughout the contest, the company evaluated leadership, management
and interpersonal skills, financial capabilities and behavioral profiles. The
final phase also included one-on-one and group interviews with a judging panel
of four seasoned professionals who earned their own stripes in the military and
business arenas. The process was in-depth and sometimes emotional.

Piaget convinced each judge independently that he deserved the Gold Award,
valued at more than $45,000, including working capital, equipment, waived
franchise fees, training and support -- everything he needs to establish a
franchise operation in his hometown near Pensacola, Fla., by early first
quarter.

"More than 100 veterans entered the contest, and although many would make
excellent franchisees, Tom Piaget set a new gold standard for our program," said
Maid Brigade Chairman Don Hay. Along with military veterans and fellow judges
Rear Admiral Michael Miller, Vet Jobs Inc. President Ted Daywalt and Maid
Brigade franchisee Ray Toombs, Hay selected Piaget based on his demonstrated
leadership and commitment in the U.S. Armed Forces, which are traits shared with
successful franchise owners.

This year's Silver and Bronze Award winners are, respectively, Thomas McWhorter
of Fort Worth, Texas, a former Air Force captain who served for 10 years, and
Gerald Zeigler of Virginia Beach, Va., a former chief petty officer who served
20 years in the Navy. They won second and third place versions of the Gold
Award, with graduated levels working capital of $10,000 and $5,000, and will
open their businesses early next year in their home markets.

The judges deemed the remaining finalists, former Air Force Captain Steven
Buchanan of Lantana, Texas, and Air Force Major Michael Braibish of Salem, Ore.,
also highly qualified to own a Maid Brigade franchise. In addition to waiving
these honorable veterans' franchise fees as indicated in the contest rules, Maid
Brigade is awarding them with $3,000 equipment packages when they open their
Maid Brigade operations.

Maid Brigade will offer the contest again next year and broaden the eligibility
to include the National Guard and the Reserves. After Veterans Day 2009, and
until next year's giveaway contest, Maid Brigade will continue to honor veterans
by discounting its franchise fees 25 percent for all qualified and honorably
discharged veterans. The program Web site, www.MaidBrigadeGiveaway.com, includes
additional information about the contest, finalists, judging panel and
award-winning 25-year-old franchiser Maid Brigade Inc.

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