Team Clean Founder Donna Allie to Speak to The Main Line Society of Professional Women on Wednesday, November 30th at The Radnor Hotel, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., In Interview with Comcast Network's Lynn Doyle

Philadelphia, PA – November 29, 2011 – Donna Allie, the president and founder of Team Clean, the Greater Philadelphia region's largest independent commercial janitorial service company, will address the Main Line Society of Professional Women in an “armchair conversation” with Lynn Doyle from The Comcast Network, on Wednesday, November 30^th. 

The event, a program from the Main Line Chamber of Commerce, will be conducted from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at The Radnor Hotel.  Tickets are $50 for non-members and $35 for members.  Additional information is available at the Main Line Chamber of Commerce website at http://www.mlcc.org, or by phone at 610-687-6232.

Allie began as a solo entrepreneur and founded Team Clean; now, it is Philadelphia’s #1-ranked Minority-Owned Business, with more than $17 million in sales. Doyle is the nine time Emmy award-winning host and executive producer of “It’s Your Call.” In addition to securing hard-to-get interviews with VIP’s, she is the president and founder of TV production company, LDTV, LLC.

Event Sponsors include: American Executive Centers; CBIZ Payroll; Drexel LeBow College of Business; Stephen J. DiOrio, CLU, ChFC, Agency, State Farm; TD Bank; and Threlfall Marketing Group.  The featured non-profit organizations for Wednesday night include The Ceres Society of Philabundance, an initiative engaging women in the fight against hunger, and The Joy of Sox, which provides socks for the homeless in the Philadelphia and the surrounding areas with plans to expand regionally and nationally.

The Main Line Society of Professional Women provides professional women from diverse backgrounds a forum to engage in relationships that will empower them with knowledge and ideas to advance their career goals, while also encouraging them to make an impact in their community and on issues that affect the future of women in business.

Allie launched her company, Team Clean, in the mid-1980s as a solo entrepreneur, and the company she founded on a shoe-string has over 500 employees.  Allie and Team Clean remain committed to hiring from the very communities in which their clients are based, giving men and women an opportunity to become gainfully employed.  Allie’s company has been consistently recognized as a leader in employing older workers, formerly incarcerated individuals, immigrants, Welfare-to-Work program participants, and others new to the workforce in the City of Philadelphia.

Originally unable to find employment in her chosen field after college graduation, Allie was a single parent determined to find a way to support herself and her child.  She had accompanied a friend on a job cleaning a home, and realized that there was an excellent income potential in cleaning houses.  She answered newspaper advertisements for “cleaning ladies,” and began cleaning homes throughout Philadelphia’s suburban Main Line. 

Team Clean grew when Allie began to respond to those newspaper ads by hiring women herself and sending them off in pairs to clean homes, establishing the burgeoning company’s “team” approach to cleaning.  She took her first commercial contract in 1985 with the Upper Main Line YMCA.  Today, Team Clean serves a variety of clients in government, education, industry, professional offices, sports and entertainment venues and events, including the landmark National Constitution Center, historic Cheyney University and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. 

Team Clean is certified as a women's business enterprise by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council and as a minority enterprise by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

Allie remains independent and hard-working, dedicated to building her business, improving the lives of her employees, and enhancing a growing, vibrant company headquartered in the City of Philadelphia. Her singular vision includes the goal of providing meaningful employment for over 3,000 men and women.  That vision is powered by her passion for providing a re-entry to the workforce the less fortunate, and comes from her own unique and compelling experiences both as an individual and as a business owner.  She has partnered with the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation to bring over 100 new employees to the workforce out of the welfare system.  In addition, she has partnered with the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board and the City of Philadelphia to bring ex-offenders into the workforce, with exceptional results. 

Throughout the history of her company, Allie has remained committed to community service.  She is currently a board member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation, and chairs the ex-offenders task force for the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board. She is also an active board member of a number of non-profit organizations, including the African-American Chamber of Commerce, the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, and the Universal Charter School.

On November 3, Allie was presented with the “Beyond the Glass Ceiling Award” by the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter at the 18^th Annual Spectrum Awards, which honors local women for their contributions to the Philadelphia community. Earlier this year, Team Clean received the Urban League of Philadelphia Spirit of Innovation Award.  In addition, Allie was recognized as one of Philadelphia’s Most Influential African American Leaders by the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest African-American newspaper organization, for the second consecutive year. 

In 2010, Allie was one of the recipients of the inaugural 2010 Brava Award for Women in Business as selected by Philadelphia Smart CEO magazine.  In addition, Team Clean was selected by Inc. Magazine to their fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.  In October 2010, Team Clean was presented with the 2010 Minority Enterprise Development Week Award at the 26^th Annual Minority Enterprise Development Week awards reception. The Cradle of Liberty Council, Boy Scouts of America honored Allie for her contributions to the local community with the 2009 Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award. The award recognized her for the wide influence in the business and professional community and noted Allie as a “commendable role model for all young people.”

Among her other notable achievements, in 2009 Allie was honored as one of the inaugural Minority Business Leaders by the Philadelphia Business Journal.  In 2008, she was named one of the Philadelphia region’s Women of Distinction by the Philadelphia chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Philadelphia Business Journal.  In April 2007, she was honored by the Philadelphia Phillies with the inaugural Most Valuable Diverse Business Partner Award during ceremonies on Jackie Robinson Day at Citizens Bank Park.  In 1994, the African American Chamber of Commerce honored Allie with their Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, and in 1995 she received the Business Acumen Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women.  In 1996, Team Clean was selected as one of Philadelphia’s 100 Fastest Growing Small Businesses by the Wharton Small Business Development Center and the Philadelphia Business Journal, and in 1997 Allie was named one of Pennsylvania’s 50 Best Women in Business.  Also in 1997, Allie and Team Clean received the Special Recognition Award for Excellence of Service from the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In 2001, she was selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the "District Minority Small Business Person of the Year."   The Business Center at New Covenant Campus honored Allie in 2006 with their Harriet Tubman Trailblazer Award.  In addition, Allie has received the 62nd National Freedom Day Community Service Award, the City of Philadelphia’s Supply, Service and Equipment Award, and the Main Line Martin Luther King Jr. Association’s Business Leadership Award.

Additional information about Team Clean is available at http://www.team-clean.com.

Media Contact for Team Clean:
Jim DeLorenzo, Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations, 215-564-1122, jim@jhdenterprises.com

Rowing Legend Fred Duling to Compete for 52nd Consecutive Year in 108th Schuylkill Navy Run in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving Day

Philadelphia, PA -- November 21, 2011 -- One of the most decorated athletes in Philadelphia rowing history, the legendary Fred Duling, will compete in the 108th annual Schuylkill Navy Run this Thursday, November 24th - Thanksgiving Day -- for the 52nd consecutive year.  Unlike the previous years, however, Duling is competing in far different circumstances this Thanksgiving. 

Last December, less than two weeks after last year's Schuylkill Navy Run, Duling fell over a balcony while working at Malta Boat Club on Boathouse Row, fracturing his spine in four different places: the C1, C2, C5 and C6 vertebrae. He suffered a concussion, broken nose, broken cheek bone and had several deep lacerations on his face. According to Duling, he was working alone at the boathouse, decorating the landmark for Christmas.

While there were no witnesses, and no one knows exactly what happened or how he fell, Duling apparently landed hard on his head and face, and was not able to break his fall with his hands.  The 67-year-old Philadelphia rowing legend is now paralyzed from the abdomen down, and will be competing this year in a wheel chair, assisted by his daughter Sara.

Duling rowed on three US national teams in his youth. As recently as the summer of 2009, at age 65, he won gold medals in three events at the US Rowing Masters National Championships, and several more at the Rowing Masters World Championships. He won the US National Championship in the light single in his age group at the Masters national rowing championships in 2007. He has won many rowing national championship gold medals, including at least five in the past few years at masters’ nationals, and several medals, including gold, at the World Masters Rowing Championships. Notably, to celebrate his 60th birthday in 2004, Duling rowed 60 miles on one day.

In the aftermath of his accident last December, Duling spent more than a month in intensive care at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, then eight months at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. He is now living at the home of his daughter, Sara, and her husband, Sandor Ferenczy, in Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood.

Ever since the accident, members of The Schuylkill Navy have been helping Duling and his family raise funds.  Full information about Duling is available at the special "Pull For Fred" website, http://pullforfred.com/Pull_For_Fred/Pull_for_Fred.html, as well as on the "Pull For Fred" Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coach-Fred/163034540406713?v=wall.

The 108th Annual Schuylkill Navy Run begins at 9:15 a.m. this Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24th, over a five and 5/8 miles course, starting at Malta Boat Club on Kelly Drive.  The race began in 1899, and except for missing two years during World War I and two years during World War II, has been a tradition for rowers in Philadelphia and the region. 

Founded in 1858, the Schuylkill Navy is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States. Today the Schuylkill Navy comprises the clubs of Boathouse Row: Pennsylvania, Fairmount, Crescent, Bachelors, University, Malta, Vesper, College, Penn A.C., Undine, Philadelphia Girls', and Gillin, the newest upriver member. The clubs share the river with the Philadelphia Rowing Program for the Disabled, dragon boats, canoes, and kayaks.   The Schuylkill Navy is also the organizers of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series, which brings together for the first time 20 previously independent events in the first organized year-long series of rowing events of its kind in any major U.S. city.  Additional information is available at http://www.boathouserow.org.

ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen’s 2011-2012 Speaking Tour Continues This Week with Appearances in Wichita on Thursday and Kansas City on Friday

November 15, 2011 – Fresh on the heels of his speaking engagements to full-houses at Auburn University and in Seattle, ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen’s 2011-2012 speaking tour continues this week with appearances in Wichita and Kansas City.

On Thursday, November 17^th, Rasmussen will speak at the Youth Entrepreneurs Business Breakfast at Wichita State University’s Koch Arena beginning at 7:30 a.m. and continuing through 9 a.m. (Central Standard Time).  Tickets are still available, with individual tickets at $75, alumni tickets at $37.50, and tables at $750 per table, through the Youth Entrepreneurs website at https://yeks.org/events.

On Friday, November 18^th, Rasmussen will speak at Kansas City's inaugural Youth Entrepreneurs Business for Breakfast event, at the College Basketball Experience adjacent to Kansas City’s Sprint Center.  Tickets are still available, with individual tickets at $75, alumni tickets at $37.50, and tables at $750 per table, through the Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas website at https://yeks.org/events .

All proceeds from the events in Wichita and Kansas City benefit Youth Entrepreneurs®, which teaches business and entrepreneurial skills in high school classrooms, and offers hands-on experience to help students succeed as business owners or employees. Members of the business community offer support as mentors and all Youth Entrepreneurs graduates are encouraged to pursue higher education. Alumni stay involved with the program through opportunities for continuing education and networking, scholarships, and partnerships with local businesses. During the current school year approximately 1,000 students from 28 local high schools will complete the Youth Entrepreneurs class. 

Rasmussen, the legendary entrepreneur who founded ESPN, as well as the author of “Sports Junkies Rejoice!  The Birth of ESPN,” will give his audiences in both Wichita and Kansas City a rare opportunity to hear and feel the stories of a man who was considered by the three major television networks at the time (ABC, NBC & CBS) a dreamer and all-around “crazy man” to even think that he could compete with them.

Jim Miller, the co-author of the recent best-selling book, “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN,” recently told John Ourand of The Sports Business Journal that “this is a guy whose idea gave birth to, arguably, the most successful media story of our time.”

Try to imagine the world without ESPN and Sports Center, and for many, it is impossible. It is safe to say that Rasmussen changed the face of sports, and the face of television.  His brainstorm for a 24-hour cable sports television station, born out of adversity, has become the Worldwide Leader in Sports, ESPN. 

A former radio and television sports broadcaster, Rasmussen had been the Hartford Whalers Communications Director, but when the Whalers didn’t make the 1978 World Hockey Association playoffs, Rasmussen and others on staff were fired. His idea for an all-sports cable TV network captured his imagination, and he incorporated the fledgling network on July 14, 1978. He had already begun to seek out cable television companies, sponsors, investors and partners. With an idea that was truly ahead of its time, and running out of cash, Rasmussen found one investor who believed in the concept in February, 1979, and by September 7, 1979, ESPN was on the air for the first time, 14 months from Rasmussen’s moment of inspiration.

A life-long entrepreneur and sports fan, Rasmussen’s innovations in advertising, sports and broadcasting are numerous and include not only the creation of ESPN, but also the concept for “Sports Center,” wall-to-wall coverage of NCAA regular-season and “March Madness” college basketball, and coverage of the College World Series.  He broke the advertising barrier to cable television by signing Anheuser Busch to the largest cable TV advertising contract ever. 

Named “The Father of Cable Sports” by USA Today, Rasmussen was named to The Sports 100, honoring the 100 most important people in American sports history.  His place in sports history was further recognized by Sports Illustrated in 1994, when he was honored as one of the “40 for the Ages,” one of 40 individuals who has significantly altered and elevated the world of sport in the last half of the 20^th Century.  Rasmussen was named to the 2011 class of “The Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business,” an award from the Sports Business Journal and the Sports Business Daily recognizing the architects and builders of sports.   

He frequently returns to Bristol, Conn. for ESPN’s annual anniversary celebrations.  On September 13, 2009, as part of ESPN’s 30^th Anniversary celebration, Rasmussen was recognized for his role as the father of ESPN when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch during ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” coverage of the Phillies/Mets contest in Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. 

Rasmussen is a gifted raconteur and a popular public speaker discussing American entrepreneurship, innovation, and the birth of ESPN.  He is also a frequent guest on radio and television shows, including recent appearances on the nationally-syndicated radio shows “Sports Byline USA with Ron Barr” and “The Dennis Miller Show” and the cable television interview show “It’s Your Call.”  In April 2011 he was a featured guest on the FOX News Channel’s “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld.” 

In late September, Rasmussen spoke to a sold-out theatre at Auburn University, and in October, Rasmussen spoke at two fundraising breakfasts for the Imagine Children’s Museum of Everett, Washington (suburban Seattle).  In April 2011, Rasmussen delivered the keynote address at the 30^th annual New England Spring & Metalstamping Association Trade Show in Plantsville, Connecticut. In February 2011, Rasmussen spoke at a special business breakfast and book signing in his honor, hosted by the Philadelphia Business Journal.  Also in February he was guest of honor at "An Evening with ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen" in Philadelphia sponsored by the Center City Proprietors Association. In January, 2011, Rasmussen delivered the keynote address at the 2011 Kellogg Marketing Conference at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.  In October, 2010, Rasmussen delivered the keynote at the 17th Annual CEO Forum at the University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne, Ind.).  He also was guest of honor for an “Evening with ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen” at the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce.  Rasmussen delivered the keynote at the 2010 Maastricht Institute of Entrepreneurship at Missouri Valley College (Marshall, Missouri) in April, 2010. 

Rasmussen’s recent speaking appearances also include engagements at Villanova University, Bay Path College, Princeton University, Quinnipiac University’s School of Law, the University of Florida School of Law, Azusa Pacific University, Lindenwood University, Saint Xavier University, Indiana Tech, and The Center for Sports Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, among others. 

Additional information about Rasmussen is available at http://www.ESPNFounder.com.  Rasmussen has also established a separate website, http://www.espnfounder.com/speaking_tour.htm, where colleges, businesses, groups and corporations can “book” him to speak about the genesis of ESPN, and his integral role in the creation of one of the world’s most powerful properties.

###

[Note:  Photo of Bill Rasmussen at Citizens Bank Par k courtesy of Major League Baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies, Heddy Bergman photographer.]

Media Contact:  Jim DeLorenzo, Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations, 215-564-1122, jim@jhdenterprises.com

Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series Debut Season Concludes This Veterans Day Weekend with Hutchinson Cup Regatta on Saturday and Philadelphia Turn & Burn Regatta on Sunday

Philadelphia, PA – November 10, 2011 - This Veterans Day weekend, the debut season of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series concludes with two outstanding events, the eighth annual Hutchinson Cup Regatta on Saturday, November 12^th, and the third annual Philadelphia Children’s Foundation Turn & Burn Regatta on Sunday, November 13^th.

Saturday’s Hutchinson Cup Regatta begins at approximately 8:30 a.m. and continues to approximately 1 p.m.  A record number of entries, 180 boats, with more than 400 rowers from 30 clubs, representing nine states, will compete in Saturday’s races. This year’s race benefits the National Hospice Foundation’s “We Honor Veterans” program and was made possible by Gold Sponsors: Mariner Insurance, M&T Bank, Firstrust, Cozen-O’Connor and Richard S. Burns Co.

Sunday’s Turn & Burn Regatta begins at approximately 9 a.m. and continues to approximately 1 p.m.  There are approximately 65 boats entered from 17 clubs and five states.  This is the third year for the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation Turn & Burn Regatta,  All proceeds from this regatta go to supporting the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation’s mission to empower children of all ages to find their passion, develop needed skills and make positive career and life decisions to achieve a successful future.  As in previous years, the Turn & Burn Regatta is open to Masters, clubs, high schools and colleges sweep rowers and scullers.

Both events are what is commonly referred to as a "head" race: A rowing head race is one where competitors race the clock over a course typically two to three miles long, compared to sprint races of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. Head races are a format that began in England.

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series has been recognized by the Philadelphia Sports Congress as one of the "Premier Annual Events" for the city, state and region along with the Penn Relays (April); Blue Cross Broad Street Run (May); Devon Horse Show (May); TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship (June); Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (June); ING Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon (September); the Philadelphia Marathon (November) and Army-Navy Football.

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series schedule runs from March through November, and features over 35,000 competitors in over 7,700 boats representing not only high schools but colleges, clubs, masters and open programs from around the country. The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series brings together for the first time 20 previously independent events in the first organized year-long series of rowing events of its kind in any major U.S. city. The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is organized by the Schuylkill Navy, which is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the country, representing the 12 rowing clubs based on Philadelphia's landmark Boathouse Row.

The official host restaurant of the 2011 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is Buca di Beppo-Philadelphia.

The official host hotel of the 2011 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown.

With three of the largest regattas in the Mid-Atlantic region on the schedule, as well as two of the nation's oldest regattas, the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series connects the rowing competitors of today to the historic home of the international rowing elite. It is built upon a tradition that launched November 12, 1835 with the first organized regatta on the Schuylkill (a full eight years before the start of the rowing program at Harvard). Over 175 years later, the Schuylkill River hosts more regattas annually than any other river in the nation. Additional information is available at http://www.BoathouseRow.org.

Media Contact:

Jim DeLorenzo

Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations

215-266-5943

jim@jhdenterprises.com

Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown is the Official Host Hotel of the 2011 and 2012 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series

Philadelphia, PA – November 9, 2011 – The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series recently announced the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown as the Official Host Hotel of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series for both the 2011 and 2012 seasons.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

“The team at the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown came to us earlier this year, and we are extremely pleased with our relationship with them as an official sponsor of the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series for both this season, and our season next year,” said John Hogan, Commodore of The Schuylkill Navy, which organizes the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series.  “The Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown has provided our visiting teams, clubs, parents, families and officials with a variety of room night options this season, and with its central location in the heart of Center City Philadelphia, it is the perfect hotel for all our participants.  We are grateful for their considerable assistance during the course of our debut season and look forward to even more in 2012.” 

Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown is located at 1800 Market Street in Center City Philadelphia, and gives business travelers and visiting guests the amenities and services they need for a productive trip including complimentary high-speed Internet access, a 24-hour business center and meeting space.   With 445 guest rooms, the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown boasts upgraded amenities in all Club Level rooms, as well as award winning service and a spacious new lobby.  The guest rooms feature plush bedding and fine furnishings, while the hotel also has a 24-hour onsite fitness center and access to the Philadelphia Sports Club, in-room dining and a full restaurant and bar in the lobby.  Additional information about the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Downtown is available at http://www.cpphiladelphia.com/

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series has been recognized by the Philadelphia Sports Congress as one of the "Premier Annual Events" for the city, state and region along with the Penn Relays (April); Blue Cross Broad Street Run (May); Devon Horse Show (May); TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship (June); Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (June); ING Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon (September); the Philadelphia Marathon (November) and Army-Navy Football.

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series schedule runs from March through November, and features over 35,000 competitors in over 7,700 boats representing not only high schools but colleges, clubs, masters and open programs from around the country. The remaining regattas on this year's schedule include: Saturday, November 12, Hutchinson Cup Regatta (masters/open/coll/h.s./juniors); and Sunday, November 13, Philadelphia Turn & Burn Regatta (masters/open/coll./h.s./clubs)

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series brings together for the first time 20 previously independent events in the first organized year-long series of rowing events of its kind in any major U.S. city. The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is organized by the Schuylkill Navy, which is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the country, representing the 12 rowing clubs based on Philadelphia's landmark Boathouse Row.

With three of the largest regattas in the Mid-Atlantic region on the schedule, as well as two of the nation's oldest regattas, the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series connects the rowing competitors of today to the historic home of the international rowing elite. It is built upon a tradition that launched November 12, 1835 with the first organized regatta on the Schuylkill (a full eight years before the start of the rowing program at Harvard). Over 175 years later, the Schuylkill River hosts more regattas annually than any other river in the nation. Additional information is available at http://www.BoathouseRow.org.

Media Contact:

Jim DeLorenzo

Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations

215-266-5943

jim@jhdenterprises.com

Buca di Beppo – Philadelphia Is the Official Host Restaurant of the 2011 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series

Philadelphia, PA – November 8, 2011 – The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series recently announced Buca di Beppo – Philadelphia as the Official Host Restaurant of the 2011 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We are pleased that Buca di Beppo – Philadelphia has agreed to sponsor our final six races of the 2011 Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series,” said John Hogan, Commodore of The Schuylkill Navy, which organizes the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series.  “Buca di Beppo has an outstanding menu and an great location in Center City Philadelphia, making it the perfect venue for our competing teams and clubs to have a pre-event dinner or a post-event celebration.  They have been outstanding in preparing special menus and pricing for our participants, and we look forward to working with them.”

Located at 258 South 15th Street in Center City Philadelphia, Buca di Beppo is the home of “team dining.” They serve authentic Italian food that comes to your table family style, meant to be shared. Buca specializes in group dining in a family friendly atmosphere. Buca di Beppo is the perfect place to dine before or after any sporting event or to host team celebrations. Buca di Beppo Philadelphia has packages available for groups of 15 or more; pricing inclusive of tax and gratuity; and private and semi private dining to accommodate groups of all sizes.  Additional information about Buca di Beppo – Philadelphia is available at http://www.bucadibeppo.com,

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series has been recognized by the Philadelphia Sports Congress as one of the "Premier Annual Events" for the city, state and region along with the Penn Relays (April); Blue Cross Broad Street Run (May); Devon Horse Show (May); TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship (June); Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (June); ING Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon (September); the Philadelphia Marathon (November) and Army-Navy Football.

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series schedule runs from March through November, and features over 35,000 competitors in over 7,700 boats representing not only high schools but colleges, clubs, masters and open programs from around the country. The remaining regattas on this year's schedule include: Saturday, November 12, Hutchinson Cup Regatta (masters/open/coll/h.s./juniors); and Sunday, November 13, Philadelphia Turn & Burn Regatta (masters/open/coll./h.s./clubs)

The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series brings together for the first time 20 previously independent events in the first organized year-long series of rowing events of its kind in any major U.S. city. The Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series is organized by the Schuylkill Navy, which is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the country, representing the 12 rowing clubs based on Philadelphia's landmark Boathouse Row.

With three of the largest regattas in the Mid-Atlantic region on the schedule, as well as two of the nation's oldest regattas, the Philadelphia Classic Regatta Series connects the rowing competitors of today to the historic home of the international rowing elite. It is built upon a tradition that launched November 12, 1835 with the first organized regatta on the Schuylkill (a full eight years before the start of the rowing program at Harvard). Over 175 years later, the Schuylkill River hosts more regattas annually than any other river in the nation. Additional information is available at http://www.BoathouseRow.org.

Media Contact:

Jim DeLorenzo

Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations

215-266-5943

 jim@jhdenterprises.com

Team Clean Founder Donna Allie Honored by American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter with Beyond the Glass Ceiling Award At the 18th Annual Spectrum Awards

Philadelphia, PA – November 3, 2011 – Donna Allie, the president and founder of Team Clean, Inc., the Greater Philadelphia region's largest independent commercial janitorial service company, was presented with the “Beyond the Glass Ceiling Award” earlier today by the American Red Cross at the 18th Annual Spectrum Awards, which honors local women for their contributions to the Philadelphia community.

Allie was one member of an impressive list of winners honored at the breakfast ceremony at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue.  Also honored were: Lynn Hardy Yeakel, director of the Drexel University College of Medicine’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership, with the Pinnacle Lifetime Achievement Award; Patricia Coulter, president and CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia, with the Clara Barton Outstanding Humanitarian Award; Sara Abdulrasool, a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School and Vice President of her school’s Red Cross Club, with the Twinkle Star Scholarship Award;  and Sabrina Blake, a senior at Frankford High School and an active member of Frankford’s Red Cross Club, with the Twinkle Star Scholarship Award. Previous Spectrum Award recipients include University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann; Project H.O.M.E. founder Sister Mary Scullion; and actress and philanthropist Suzanne Roberts.

Allie launched her company, Team Clean, in the mid-1980s as a solo entrepreneur, and the company she founded on a shoe-string has over 500 employees.  Allie and Team Clean remain committed to hiring from the very communities in which their clients are based, giving men and women an opportunity to become gainfully employed.  Allie’s company has been consistently recognized as a leader in employing older workers, formerly incarcerated individuals, immigrants, Welfare-to-Work program participants, and others new to the workforce in the City of Philadelphia.

Originally unable to find employment in her chosen field after college graduation, Allie was a single parent determined to find a way to support herself and her child.  She had accompanied a friend on a job cleaning a home, and realized that there was an excellent income potential in cleaning houses.  She answered newspaper advertisements for “cleaning ladies,” and began cleaning homes throughout Philadelphia’s suburban Main Line. 

Team Clean grew when Allie began to respond to those newspaper ads by hiring women herself and sending them off in pairs to clean homes, establishing the burgeoning company’s “team” approach to cleaning.  She took her first commercial contract in 1985 with the Upper Main Line YMCA.  Today, Team Clean serves a variety of clients in government, education, industry, professional offices, sports and entertainment venues and events, including the landmark National Constitution Center, historic Cheyney University and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. 

Team Clean is certified as a women's business enterprise by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council and as a minority enterprise by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

Allie remains independent and hard-working, dedicated to building her business, improving the lives of her employees, and enhancing a growing, vibrant company headquartered in the City of Philadelphia. Her singular vision includes the goal of providing meaningful employment for over 3,000 men and women.  That vision is powered by her passion for providing a re-entry to the workforce the less fortunate, and comes from her own unique and compelling experiences both as an individual and as a business owner.  She has partnered with the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation to bring over 100 new employees to the workforce out of the welfare system.  In addition, she has partnered with the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board and the City of Philadelphia to bring ex-offenders into the workforce, with exceptional results. 

Throughout the history of her company, Allie has remained committed to community service.  She is currently a board member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation, and chairs the ex-offenders task force for the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board. She is also an active board member of a number of non-profit organizations, including the African-American Chamber of Commerce, the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, and the Universal Charter School.

Earlier this year, Team Clean received the Urban League of Philadelphia Spirit of Innovation Award.  In addition, Allie was recognized as one of Philadelphia’s Most Influential African American Leaders by the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest African-American newspaper organization, for the second consecutive year. 

In 2010, Allie was one of the recipients of the inaugural 2010 Brava Award for Women in Business as selected by Philadelphia Smart CEO magazine.  In addition, Team Clean was selected by Inc. Magazine to their fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.  In October 2010, Team Clean was presented with the 2010 Minority Enterprise Development Week Award at the 26^th Annual Minority Enterprise Development Week awards reception. The Cradle of Liberty Council, Boy Scouts of America honored Allie for her contributions to the local community with the 2009 Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award. The award recognized her for the wide influence in the business and professional community and noted Allie as a “commendable role model for all young people.”

Among her other notable achievements, in 2009 Allie was honored as one of the inaugural Minority Business Leaders by the Philadelphia Business Journal.  In 2008, she was named one of the Philadelphia region’s Women of Distinction by the Philadelphia chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Philadelphia Business Journal.  In April 2007, she was honored by the Philadelphia Phillies with the inaugural Most Valuable Diverse Business Partner Award during ceremonies on Jackie Robinson Day at Citizens Bank Park.  In 1994, the African American Chamber of Commerce honored Allie with their Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, and in 1995 she received the Business Acumen Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women.  In 1996, Team Clean was selected as one of Philadelphia’s 100 Fastest Growing Small Businesses by the Wharton Small Business Development Center and the Philadelphia Business Journal, and in 1997 Allie was named one of Pennsylvania’s 50 Best Women in Business.  Also in 1997, Allie and Team Clean received the Special Recognition Award for Excellence of Service from the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In 2001, she was selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the District Minority Small Business Person of the Year.  The Business Center at New Covenant Campus honored Allie in 2006 with their Harriet Tubman Trailblazer Award.  In addition, Allie has received the 62nd National Freedom Day Community Service Award, the City of Philadelphia’s Supply, Service and Equipment Award, and the Main Line Martin Luther King Jr. Association’s Business Leadership Award.

Additional information about the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter is available at http://www.redcrossphilly.org. Additional information about Team Clean is available at http://www.team-clean.com.

Media Contact for Team Clean:
Jim DeLorenzo

Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations

Phone:  215-564-1122

E-mail:  jim@jhdenterprises.com