As we wrap up 2018, it’s time to reflect and think back on the amazing year we’ve had! First, the entire Gray Matter Marketing Team wants to extend a big ‘thank you’ to all of our participants, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, staff and partners who made each and every event happen. Our impact on communities and the quality of our events wouldn’t be as great as they are without each person!
In 2018, we hosted 17 events, starting in January with the Rhode Island Brew Fest and culminating at the Vermont 10 Miler in November. All together, we saw approximately 24,600 event participants cover more than 115 miles of roadway or bike path. At our finish lines, we awarded nearly 18,000 finishers medals to deserving runners, walkers and cyclists.
These events happen with lots of hard work from our full-time and our part-time staff, as well as our volunteers. This year, we estimate: 500+ buckets and bins washed, 60,000+ bottles of water moved (at least twice each), 2,000+ traffic cones packed up and placed on roads, 250+ cardboard boxes of t-shirts stacked, un-stacked and re-stacked, 200+ folding tables carried and set out, and more than 1000 cases of beer sorted and placed.
Two of our events this year were new: the Portland 10 Miler in April, and the Wells Brew Fest in July. The Portland 10 Miler also marked the launch of our New England 10 Miler series, a three-event series including Portland, Newport and Stowe in which runners who completed all three events received an additional medal and shirt in Vermont. More than 350 runners registered for the series in 2018, a number we’ve already surpassed in registrations for 2019!
2018 was also an award-winning year for our events. The Amica Newport Marathon was named the top marathon in Rhode Island by Race Raves, the Amica Newport Half Marathon was named one of the top 20 best half marathons in the USA by BibRaves.com, the Ocean Road 10K was named one of the top 15 best 10Ks in the USA by BibRaves.com, the Craft Brew Races Newport was named one of the top 15 best 5Ks in the USA by BibRaves.com, and we will have a few more awards to announce in the coming weeks once they are made public!
We had five incredible interns join us this year from Salve Regina University and Roger Williams University. We enjoyed showing them the ropes of event planning and marketing, and we certainly learned from them as well!
The Gray Matter Marketing office closes between Christmas and New Years, and we’re looking forward to the break so that we can prepare to launch an even more successful 2019.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sincerely,
Matt, Drew, Jon, Claire & Lisa
2018 Charitable Partners
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center
Rhode Island Brewers Guild
Boys and Girls Clubs of Newport County
Child and Family Services
Fanconi Anemia Research Fund
Fort Adams Trust
Narragansett Historical Society
YMCA of Newport County
A Wish Come True
Ronald McDonald House of Providence
Rogers High School Athletic Boosters Club
C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta
Spurwink Services
Clean Ocean Access
Middletown Youth Football and Cheerleading
Massachusetts Craft Brewers Guild
BoysTown New England
Aquidneck Land Trust
Meeting Street
Rotary Club of Bristol RI
Rotary Club of Jamestown RI
Jamestown Pack 1 Cub Scouts
Stowe Land Trust
Honor Mae Meunier Trust
Boys Scouts, Troop 1 Jamestown
Sojourner House
Samaritans
Star Kids
Newport Gulls
Ocean State Waves
Save the Bay
Salvation Army
Maine Brewers Guild
Special Olympics
Lucy’s Hearth
J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center
Womens Resource Center
Sail to Prevail
Newport County YMCA
Looking Upwards
Sail Newport
Susan G. Komen
Access Point RI
Daffodillion
Rotary Club of Bristol RI
Payton Elizebath Watson Memorial Foundation
March of Dimes
RI Hospital Pulmonary Hypertension
Boys and Girls Club of Newport County
Jamestown Fire Department