Partnerships

With less that 2 weeks until the Providence Cyclo-cross Festival the management team had a chance to interact with a few of our partners.

Our first stop on our tour was a visit to Johnson & Wales University in downtown Providence.  JayWoo as the students like to call it is a private, nonprofit institution with accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, hospitality, culinary arts, technology and education. Richard Fries, Laura Low and Glenn Stilwell presented real world dimensions of event management to more than 40 students. It's important for these young people to have a passion for what they do, and their class in the sports management path was excited to hear real world stories. From the 2005 "Blizzard" that hit the National Championships to the "capturing" of the drivers keys until the port-a-potties are cleaned, we tried to encourage them to do what they love and the money will follow. In future years we hope to expand our relationship with the university, developing internships for students across the country and around the world.

Second, we took a little drive over to beautiful Roger Williams Park to meet with our partners at the Parks Department. We work very closely with the entire staff to showcase their venue which was battered by Hurricane Irene.  We continue to enjoy a long term relationship with our friends at the park and the city of Providence. If you get a chance please explore the many aspects of one of the most picturesque urban park settings in the world.

Next stop,  East Coast Greenways Alliance and Eric Weis. They have been a strong supporter of our event and this year is no exception. Eric has put together two wonderful events that coincide with ours. The New England Bike-Walk Summit and the first ever New England Builders' Ball, both on Friday October 7th at the Providence Biltmore Hotel in downtown Providence, RI. I know the Providence Cyclo-cross crew will be milling about smartly at the ball. I'm sure you'll find a couple of them nearest the cocktails. It's going to be a great show with what amounts to amazing bicycle art and live music in the ballroom. There might be a little incentive to visit us next Friday...

Final stop on this magical bus tour was the Providence Convention and Visitors Bureau. We dropped off some of our 2011 event posters and meet some of the staff. These folks have been very helpful over the past year and we'd just wanted to say thanks.