Phil Godfrey

Michelle Wang                                      

415-984-6165

 

Becky Wesley

225-766-6800

 

Anne Warner Cribbs

415-946-8729

 

 

San Francisco, March 17, 2008 – 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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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.