Burke challenges bike manufacturers to actively support advocacy efforts, including boosting donations to advocacy organizations to 0.5 percent of annual sales
SAN DIEGO, January 20, 2008 — John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle Corporation, started his closing keynote presentat
ion at the Bicycle Leadership Conference by stripping off his sweater to reveal a No. 4 Brett Farve jersey and show his passionate support for the Green Bay Packers.
He closed his speech by quoting President Abraham Lincoln who said his pastor had not delivered an excellent sermon because “He did not ask us to do anything great tonight,” and then Burke delivered an impassioned challenge to BLC attendees to do something great and increase their support of bicycle advocacy programs to half-a-percent (0.5 percent) of their annual sales.
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BPSA crafts new Bicycle Owner’s Manual language to help its members meet the new standards
SAN DIEGO — January 19, 2008 — Cycling manufacturers are about to be regulated by an entire set of European-crafted standards, whether such companies know about or agree with those standards. In response, the BPSA has crafted a new Bicycle Owner’s Manual that meets these new standards and can be licensed by any member of the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association.
This was one of the key issues raised during the Friday afternoon session of the 11th annual Bicycle Leadership Conference being held this weekend in this sun-drenched southern California coastal city.
According to Bob Margevicius, head of the Safety Committee for the BPSA (presenters of the BLC event), the BPSA-led effort took the better part of 2008 to craft the language, look and feel for the new manual, an effort he feels will meet all aspects of the implementation date for the looming standards.
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I’ve been putting off writing something for our blog for a couple of reasons. One, life here at SOAR has been incredibly busy. Our biggest client, Interbike, is having their annual bicycle tradeshow in Las Vegas in 4 days and we have spent the last couple of months ramping up for that. The other reason is, I’m new to blogging, and I wasn’t sure I had anything interesting or significant to post. Now I do.
I’m bummed. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found Landis guilty of doping (see AP story here). I haven’t ridden regularly in a while, but I’m still an avid fan of cycling and racing. My wife and I cheered loudly at the TV during Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour, only to stare silently again later while learning that Landis was accused of doping.
I’m not even going to pretend to understand the facts surrounding the case and spout my opinion here in this post. I’m just bummed for Landis, racers in general and for recreational cyclists and potential recreational cyclists who might think twice about participating in a tainted activity.
The news about Landis will make for an interesting next few weeks, especially with the industry’s largest trade show, Interbike, and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Championships taking place at the same time. I’m sure everyone will be talking about the verdict and will have an opinion.
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By the way, we have filled the open job position at SOAR Communications.
Maura Lansford, formerly (and officially) an Assistant Account Executive at Politis Communications, has accepted the full-time position as an AAE at SOAR Communications.
Maura has been actively involved in supporting SOAR clients on an as-needed basis almost since joining Politis Communications. She also proved invaluable in almost single-handedly overseeing media registration for Interbike 2006.
So . . . formally, the position at SOAR Communications is now closed.
However, Politis Communications is now looking for two or more account reps. PR/journalism background preferred. Good writing skills a must.
Any ideas? Reach me via email at dpolitis (at) politis.com or by calling 801-523-3730 xt. 11.
