Gainesville, FL January 19, 2007 - The Gainesville Sports Organizing Committee (GSOC) celebrated it's 18th year of service yesterday. The GSOC Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner, held at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center. During the Awards Dinner, the GSOC used the occasion to unveil their new name and logo, and installed the 2007 Officers and Trustees. They also honored the principles critical to the continuation of the Diamond Sports Park as a Sports Complex.

The GSOC has been renamed the Gainesville Sports Commission. This new change will help with something that has always been one of the GSOC's main concerns - brand recognition. Through the years people have seen the GSOC logo and were unsure about what the abbreviation stands for. With the new Gainesville Sports Commission name and logo, it will identify what the organization does and where it is based.

"The original choice for our name," according to Jack Hughes, GSOC Executive Director, "made sense as we formed during a time that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) was seeking training sites to be included in its offerings to the International Olympic Committee. The GSOC was formed then and the 'organizing committee' use was very familiar to ACOG."

"Much has changed since our founding in 1988. We did host some Olympic training here, the swimming team from Great Britain, but following that we moved forward to become the official agency of record with Alachua County for sports tourism." Hughes continued.

The GSOC now operates under two contacts with Alachua County; one contract provides an annual $100,000 "bid pool" to bid for, hosting, and assisting others in hosting events. These funds help underwrite as many as 30 events each year. The other contract funds annual operations costs associated with the GSOC mission of building sports tourism in Alachua County. The GSOC helps create an annual economic impact of about $10 million for our local economy. Since its inception, more than $150 million has been generated in direct economic activity from participants and spectators to GSOC - hosted and assisted events.

"Now we are not just an 'organizing committee', " Hughes said. "We still pride ourselves on being able to effectively organize events, but we've become more and now that we have unveiled our new name and logo, people will no longer be confused about who we are," Hughes concluded. The GSOC does host about five events each year where it is responsible for planning and organizing.

After the unveiling of the new name and logo, the Gainesville Sports Commission Board of Trustees installed its 2007 Officers and Directors. The new 2007 Gainesville Sports Commission President is David Flaherty; he is head of the Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Leaving the GSOC President position is Wende Blumberg, General Manager of the Hilton University Conference Center.

The evening ended with the GSOC's community awards. The Bronze Gator Award is given to an individual and organization that makes a contribution to our sports tourism efforts. This year the Bronze Gator Award was given to the School Board of Alachua County, the City of Newberry, and Skip Clemons of Diamond Sports Park. These parties received this award from the GSOC because of the public-private partnership they demonstrated and our community has demanded it for years. Because of their efforts, a much-needed sports complex that generates more than 5,000 visitor room nights annually, will remain a vital part of the Alachua County's sports scene.

Two President's Above and Beyond Awards were issued. The 2006 GSOC Board of Trustees President Wende Blumberg gave this important award to Richard Blalock of Newberry Parks and Recreation and Dr. Dan Boyd the Superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools. The GSOC President gives this award out to volunteers, members and other individuals that go above and beyond what is expected of them in meeting the GSOC's mission to be the leading voice of sports industry in Alachua County.

For more information about the GSOC Awards Dinner, the new name and logo, or the Gainesville Sports Commission's new Officers and Directors, please contact Joleen Cacciatore and the Gainesville Sports Commission at 352-338-9300 or email: jcacciatore@gainesvillesportscommission.com.