National Senior Games Association Enlists Ketchum to Help Promote 2009
Competition in San Francisco Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Senior Games
Association (NSGA), a not-for-profit member of the United States Olympic
Committee dedicated to motivating men and women 50 and older to lead healthy
and active lifestyles through athletic competition, has announced the
appointment of Ketchum as its public relations agency supporting all publicity
for the NSGA and the 2009 Summer National Senior Games presented by Humana,
which will be held August 1-15, 2009, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ketchum
was awarded the business in February 2008 and will handle national and local
media relations as well as strategic PR planning for the NSGA and the 2009
Local Organizing Committee (LOC).
The NSGA governs the Summer National Senior Games, the largest multi-sport
event in the world for athletes 50 and older, and other national senior
athletic events. Contestants will be training and competing throughout 2008 at
State Games' Championships around the nation to qualify for the 2009 Summer
National Games. Eligible men and women can qualify at NSGA-certified State
Games.
Medal sports in 2009 include archery, badminton, basketball, bowling,
cycling, golf, horseshoes, race walk, racquetball, road race, shuffleboard,
softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, triathlon, and
volleyball. Demonstration sports (requiring no State Games' qualification) are
soccer (football), fencing, water polo, rowing, sailing, lawn bowling and
equestrian events.
"We are thrilled to be working with the National Senior Games
Association," said Suzanne Maloney, senior vice president at Ketchum West.
"The NSGA is in a great position to demonstrate how important being active and
healthy is to the baby boomer population and we can help promote that
compelling message. Our team is really excited to work with an organization
that is committed to creating a dialogue about healthy living. We love the
Local Organizing Committee's slogan -- Long Live the Challenge -- and are
passionately dedicated to this becoming the mantra of anyone over 50."
"The NSGA is looking forward to benefiting from the creative talent and
input of Ketchum as the Senior Games Movement enters its third decade," said
NSGA President Phil Godfrey. "The timing couldn't be better as we prepare for
the 2009 Games in the largest media market we've been in to date, and building
toward Houston in 2011 and Cleveland in 2013. We're counting on Ketchum to
maximize this opportunity in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the
country."
"As hosts of the 2009 Games we are preparing diligently to deliver the
very finest setting for the athletes, with most of the competition to take
place in national championship caliber venues at Stanford University," said
LOC and Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee President Anne Warner Cribbs.
"Our demonstration sports will dramatically grow the reach and impact of the
Games, the largest multi-sport event ever held in the Bay Area."
For more information about the NSGA, please visit www.nsga.com. For
details about the 2009 Summer National Senior Games in San Francisco, visit
www.2009seniorgames.org.
About Ketchum
A communications innovator, Ketchum ranks among the largest global public
relations agencies, operating in more than 50 countries. With five global
practices -- Brand Marketing, Corporate, Healthcare, Food and Nutrition, and
Technology -- and specialty areas that include Concentric Communications
(experiential marketing, events and meetings), Ketchum Entertainment
Marketing, Ketchum Global Research Network, Ketchum Sports Network, Stromberg
Consulting (change management and workplace communications) and The Washington
Group (lobbying and government relations), Ketchum leverages its marketing and
corporate communications expertise to build brands and reputations for
clients. For more information on Ketchum, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:
OMC), visit www.ketchum.com.
About the NSGA
The National Senior Games Association governs the Summer National Senior
Games, the largest multi-sport event in the world for adults 50 and older as
well as other national senior athletic events. An umbrella for member state
organizations across the United States and Europe that host State and Local
Senior Games, the NSGA supports and sanctions these member organizations so
that adults can participate in their state events year-round, which will keep
them motivated to achieve greater value and quality in their lives by staying
healthy, active, and fit. The 2009 Summer National Senior Games presented by
Humana will be held in San Francisco (on the campus of Stanford University).
The 2011 Games will be held in Houston and the 2013 Games will take place in
Cleveland. Additional information about the NSGA can be found on their Web
site at www.nsga.com. For details about the 2009 Summer National Senior Games
in San Francisco, visit www.2009seniorgames.org.
SOURCE Ketchum
Michelle Wang, +1-415-984-6165, michelle.wang@ketchum.com; Becky Wesley,
+1-225-766-6800, bwesley@nsga.com' Anne Warner Cribbs, +1-415- 946-8729,
acribbs@2009seniorgames.org
