In an unusual move for the presenting sponsor of a major sporting event, Alltech has staffed its own full-time coordination team to focus on the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 and a varied array of related initiatives.
Ten employees of the Nicholasville-based global animal health and nutrition company are now devoted exclusively to the company's Games-related marketing strategy.
In addition to the event at the Kentucky Horse Park near Lexington scheduled for September 25 to October 10, 2010, the company founded and headed by Dr. Pearse Lyons also is sponsoring the Alltech FEI European Championships being held this year at Windsor Castle in the UK, as well as the Alltech Fortnight Festival, an ambitious statewide slate of entertainment events leading up to and during the Games.
The company's coordination team also has on its plate the Alltech Experience Pavilion and International Village at the Games, the Alltech Advantage Series product line designed specifically for horses, and Equine International, a bi-monthly magazine.
"The Games Administration Management Equestrian Systems (G.A.M.E.S.) group is also concentrating on Alltech's Animal Health and Nutrition Partnership Program," according to a press release. "Alltech has 50 global animal health and nutrition partners at present, with a goal of 100 partners serving to multiply the message of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the Alltech FEI European Championships around the world."
Alltech's new G.A.M.E.S. department includes the following staff members:
Kelly Rice Welker, director of G.A.M.E.S.
Thomas Stephens, Alltech Fortnight Festival director and corporate counsel
Nara van der Westhuyzen, marketing and partner development
Susanna Elliott, public relations
Jonathan Lang, project development
Mandy Daugherty, Alltech Fortnight Festival coordinator
Matt Mathis, Alltech Fortnight Festival marketing
Barret Harvey, artist and entertainment coordinator for the Alltech Fortnight Festival
Darlene Ricker, executive editor of Equine Publications
Tisha Surrett, executive assistant
The Alltech Fortnight Festival began in July 2008 as a statewide, entertainment-centered countdown to the Games. The Fortnight Festival has already produced 24 entertainment events of various genres in 12 different venues across the commonwealth. It will culminate in a "fortnight" of live music held throughout the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Alltech's significant investment in event-related entertainment, as well as a full-time staff devoted exclusively to the Games, is unusual for a presenting sponsor, according to sources with experience in the management and coordination of major national and international sporting events.