Festival picking up pieces after Nortel rocks the Dragon Boat
By KRYSTLE CHOW
Published on the front page of the Ottawa Business Journal.
July 2, 2007
Click here to view this article on OttawaBusinessJournal.com.
Photo by DARREN BROWN for the Ottawa Business Journal
John Brooman is picking up more than just cigarette butts and litter after the most successful Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival ever.
Mr. Brooman, the festival’s executive director, is now faced with the challenge of finding a new title sponsor for the event after Nortel Networks stepped down from the role last week.
“It’s a bittersweet thing for me… but I think it’s a good thing. It allows us to roam more and it doesn’t scare us in any shape or form,” Mr. Brooman says. “We’re fortunate because the festival is so well-run and fiscally managed that this can be absorbed.”
Mr. Brooman says the festival’s organizers are just now looking at approaching its other current sponsors to take over as title sponsor for 2008, with the Business Development Bank of Canada at the top of the list. Other top choices include the Ottawa Citizen, Dell and Tim Hortons.
Nortel was the event’s title sponsor for nine years, a way for the company and employees to be involved in the community and support worthwhile causes while also achieving some positive branding, a company spokesperson says.
This year. the telecommunications giant contributed (more…)
