From Education to Entertainment - Blackboard Founder Seeks to Transform Another Industry

From Education to Entertainment - Blackboard Founder Seeks to Transform
Another Industry

Blackboard Founder and Senior Executive Launch Event Innovation, Inc., a
Washington, D.C-Based Technology Company Developing Leading Edge Software for
Sports and Entertainment Venues

WASHINGTON, July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Stephen Gilfus,
[http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephengilfus] a founder of D.C.-based Blackboard,
and serial entrepreneur, announced the launch of Event Innovation, Inc. an
innovative new company designed to revolutionize and enhance event experiences
for attendees and venues alike.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080722/DC28370LOGO )

The company, headquartered in downtown Washington, D.C., is reinventing the
way sports, entertainment and performing arts venues interact and communicate
with their customers. Event Innovation, Inc. develops products that increase
a venue's visibility into their customers' ticket purchasing, event attendance
and in-venue spending and allows them to obtain detailed information about
attendees to a level that was never before possible.

By leveraging the resulting information, sports and entertainment
organizations can create highly-targeted campaigns and promotional offers for
event attendees while providing greater on-site benefits and conveniences
during the event. The expected effect is an improvement in the overall event
experience and the ability to maximize sales, marketing and concession
opportunities.

"We are in an unprecedented time period in which internet technologies have
the ability to create better connections for organizations and their
customers," said Gilfus, Chairman and CEO. "We have identified a unique
opportunity to provide greater conveniences for attendees while giving venues
insight to their most valuable customers through the combination of proven
technologies. The ability to apply proven technologies to the live
entertainment industry makes Event Innovation an exciting opportunity."

Joining Event Innovation as a co-founder is Ron Dinwiddie
[http://www.eventinnovation.com/ron-dinwiddie.html], a former Blackboard
Senior Executive and a well-regarded expert in the ID card and financial
transaction business. "This is possibly the greatest time in entertainment
venues history," said Dinwiddie, President and COO. "Technology today can
provide all sorts of creative ways to enhance the overall experience of
attending an event ... and we fully expect Event Innovation to emerge as the
leader in that industry. I am incredibly excited to be working with Mr. Gilfus
again to advance the capabilities for today's sports and entertainment
venues."

Prior to Event Innovation, Stephen Gilfus
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Gilfus] was a founder of D.C.-based
Blackboard Inc. a global leader in eLearning and educational software and
services. Mr. Gilfus was a key executive in the development of Blackboard,
born out of a business plan he wrote while at Cornell University. Gilfus is a
recognized software designer and inventor of Blackboard's products and author
of "The Educational Technology Framework," a methodology used by hundreds of
academic institutions and some of the world's leading publishers.

Technologies developed by Gilfus and Dinwiddie at Blackboard have enabled
thousands of capabilities for students and faculty through the development of
web-based learning environments and student ID (cashless, keyless)
applications. Both Gilfus and Dinwiddie left Blackboard in late 2007/early
2008 to explore new and inventive opportunities.

Event Innovation plans to launch its products in selected test markets with
venues and attendees beginning in fall 2008.

ABOUT EVENT INNOVATION

Event Innovation is an innovative new company founded in 2007, by Stephen
Gilfus and Ron Dinwiddie, formally of Blackboard, Inc. and designed to
revolutionize and enhance event experiences for attendees and venues alike.
The company is a leading provider of software applications and related
services to the sports, performing arts and entertainment industries; by
connecting entertainment venues to attendees, and enabling new communication
capabilities that can enhance event experiences. Event Innovation is
headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices throughout the US, Europe, and
Australia.

Connect. Communicate. Experience.

Website: www.eventinnovation.com [http://wwww.eventinnovation.com]

SOURCE Event Innovation, Inc.

Frank Ganis of Event Innovation, Inc., 888-903-3028 x711, cell:
+1-202-288-2760, fganis@eventinnovation.com; Brian Bishop, +1-703-534-4600
x210, cell: +1-202-468-8400, brian@bwfcom.com, or Shaun May, +1-703-534-4600
x213, cell: +1-240-676-4607, smay@bwfcom.com, both for Event Innovation, Inc.