Olympic speed skating champion, Eric Heiden wins
the very first CoreStates US Pro Championship, June 23, 1985
In the summer of 1985, on a hot and sweltering day, I proudly was at center stage for the launch of what has become a 28 year Philadelphia tradition, the classic bike race that began as a 251 KM (156 mile) European style road competition. My public relations firm, Ingram & Picker, had been recruited to handle every aspect of this one-of-a-kind US cycling event by the newly dubbed CoreStates Bank, previously Philadelphia National Bank or simply PNB. It was a huge challenge for our nascent firm, but one we took on with great guts and gusto - and remarkable success! In addition to garnering incredible international media attention for this event and attracting top level sponsors, we handled the touchy public affairs including conducting countless community meetings with the Manayunk neighborhood whose infamous MANAYUNK WALL was the race’s centerpiece. (A wall is bicycling terminology for a steep incline, in this case an almost 17 percent grade that challenged the greatest of the great who had to mount the wall ten times, the number of 14.4 mile loops the original course took.) Delicate negotiations yielded an outstanding relationship for years to come with Manayunk, helping to spark that neighborhood’s own successful commercial revitalization.
This event sealed the reputation of the PR firm I built with my late partner, Shelley Picker, and we grew into the fourth largest firm in Philadelphia with satellite offices in New York and Ft. Lauderdale.
Today, I caught up with the original sports promoter, David M. Chauner, managing partner of American Cycling Group, who brought this concept to our client CoreStates. Here is our interview in the VIP “Winners Circle” tent:
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