CITY OF STURGIS AND STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY SPONSORS JOIN FORCES IN SUPPORTING COMMUNITY OF STURGIS
December 9, 2008

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STURGIS, S.D. — As the dust begins to settle from the 2008 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the City of Sturgis is slowly closing the door on this years’ event.

Part of that process includes recognizing and thanking its Sturgis Motorcycle Rally sponsors for their varied contributions to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the Sturgis community. For some, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally “sponsor” may be a bit of a vague and perplexing term, the meaning of which more often than not seems to be a mystery of sorts.

 “In having worked with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally corporate sponsorship program for almost a decade,” commented Ronda Gusinsky who has represented the City of Sturgis in the sponsorship arena since 1999, “the term sponsor, or sponsorship, really represents a type of partnership.”

“These corporations make an investment in, and form a relationship with, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the community of Sturgis in return for the opportunity to have heightened exposure for their brand with the hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts who come to Sturgis each year for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally,” Gusinsky continued.

According to Sturgis City Manager Dave Boone, the investment by the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally sponsors contributes hundred of thousands of dollars annually to the City’s bottom line.

 “The sponsors’ investment,  revenues from the sponsorship fees, makes a significant reduction to the expense line in our budget,” Boone added,  “In addition to their sponsorship fees, the sponsors also provide many in-kind goods and services, everything from fire trucks and ambulances, to Mayor’s Ride t-shirts, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally promotional advertising in national publications and on TV, scoreboards and signage at athletic venues throughout Sturgis, as well as dozens of other goods and services that save the City money, so the City does not have to then underwrite these additional expenses.”

Furthermore, according to Mayor Maury LaRue, the City of Sturgis has had a long-time arrangement with the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce wherein the City donates a percentage of these Sturgis Motorcycle Rally sponsorship revenues to the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce and Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation, spreading the sponsors’ investment throughout the community.

“This year, the City of Sturgis will present the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce with a check for over $40,000,  and will contribute another $20,000 to the Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation as well, which comes directly from the funds invested with the City of Sturgis by our corporate Sturgis Motorcycle Rally sponsors,” added LaRue.


In addition, according to Gusinsky, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally corporate sponsors ASE, Official Championship of Custom Bike Building/AMD and Da Bus Rally Shuttle, not only lent their support in the form of sponsorship to this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, but also made additional contributions to the community of Sturgis through their own corporate donations to the Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation.  All totaled, contributions by Official World Championship, ASE, and Da Bus to the Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation were $6,500.00.

Robin Bradley, Publisher of AMD Magazine and Promoter of the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building, sums it up best, "Making the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the City of Sturgis our location for the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building meant I started to come to the area regularly outside of Rally time. The more I did so, the more I got know the people and the community in a way that you never can by visiting just at Rally time. The more often I came, the more I was able to develop an appreciation and understanding of the huge impact that the Rally has.”

“The motorcycle industry and the visitors to the Rally come once a year and enjoy fantastic hospitality, but then leave to go back to their own communities,” Bradley continued. “I wanted the involvement of the Official World Championship to be something that left a legacy year-round and put something back into a community that "puts-out" for us in a major way each year.”

“For fifty weeks of the year people in this community are busy going about their lives in just the same way we all do back in our homes, dealing with all the same issues that we are all confronted with where we live,” added Bradley. “That includes looking after those who need the help of those lucky enough to be able to provide it. So, I chose for the Official World Championship to support the Sturgis Rally Charities Foundation as a way of saying that although we may only be here physically for two weeks, we appreciate the community of Sturgis and want to be able to share the benefits of the opportunity Sturgis gives us with people who live here and are caring for those in need through the year."
 
Mayor Maury LaRue feels that the community of Sturgis is extremely fortunate to have corporate partners like Official World Championship, ASE, and Da Bus, as well as this year’s other Sturgis Motorcycle Rally corporate sponsors: Alltel Wireless, AMSOIL, Ultra Wheel, BlackHillsVacations.com, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Ford, GEICO, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Jack Daniel’s, Knology, MVP/Wheeled Coach, Outdoor Channel, Pak Mail, Rosenbauer, SONY, South Dakota Department of Tourism, South Dakota Lottery, South Dakota Pork Producers Council and Tom’s T’s.

 “We need to not only recognize the contributions made by our Sturgis Motorcycle Rally sponsors, but more importantly publicly and sincerely thank them,” LaRue stated. “These are very important, generous gestures.”

For information on the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, contact Brenda Vasknetz, acting Rally Director, at 605/720-0800, or visit www.SturgisMotorcycleRally.com.

Last Modified: 01-20-2010-08:55:52
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