Phelps Media Group Honored with Business Excellence Award by Wellington Chamber
Wellington, FL – February 24, 2011 – Phelps Media Group, Inc., America’s most progressive and successful equestrian public relations firm, and a Wellington fixture for nearly a decade, has been awarded the Wellington Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award. The award will be presented at the Chamber luncheon on March 16, 2011 at the Wanderer’s Club.
Launched in 2002 by Olympian Mason Phelps, Jr., Phelps Media Group began service to the equestrian industry with promotion of the National Horse Show, which was moved to Wellington following a one hundred year plus run at Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City. The PMG promotion of that event drew such record crowds to the show grounds in Wellington, that some were quoted as calling it the “Woodstock of horse shows.”
“It was amazing,” recalled President Mason Phelps. “There were so many people that weekend that we ran out of food, ran out of portable toilets and overwhelmed the roads leading into the equestrian complex. It was like Woodstock,” he laughed. The success of that promotion prompted Phelps to continue the PMG venture for other events. Word spread rapidly throughout the industry about this new company that offered ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, lightning fast media responses, and proven results. Since that time, Phelps Media Group, Inc. has rapidly accumulated an amazing number of impressive clients in the equestrian world from coast-to-coast and internationally.
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce is organized to advance the general welfare and prosperity of the Village of Wellington so that its residents and all areas of its business community shall prosper. All necessary means of promotion shall be provided and particular attention and emphasis shall be given to the economic, civic, commercial, cultural, industrial, security and educational interests of the village.
“As President of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, I am thrilled to announce Phelps Media Group as recipient of our Business Excellence Award,” said Bill Tavernise, the President of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. “PMG and Mason Phelps have been an undeniable force in this community and most certainly in the Equestrian world. Phelps Media Group was chosen as they have proved success while exhibiting honest and credible practices valued by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.”
“In addition, Phelps Media Group has provided leadership to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Wellington Community while exhibiting stewardship by providing their time, talents and gifts back to the Chamber and to the Community,” Tavernise added. “I look forward to personally handing Phelps Media Group this award at our March 16th event!”
“We are humbled by this award by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce,” Phelps said. “While we are a company with a world-wide reputation, it has always been the local community that’s most important to all of us at PMG. This award is very, very special for our entire team at Phelps Media Group.”
Phelps is a lifelong horseman. In 1968, he was part of the U.S. Three Day Team that competed in the Mexico City Olympic Games. He founded and managed the first International Jumping Derby in Newport, Rhode Island, and the following year, founded and created the New England Horsemen’s Association Hunt Seat Medal. Currently Phelps is President and CEO of the National Horse Show of America Ltd.
In addition, Phelps has been instrumental in numerous charity and fundraising events in the equestrian world. He was one of the founders of the Equestrian Aid Foundation, and he produced numerous editions of Denim and Diamonds, a wildly popular benefit party for the United States Equestrian Team.
Adding to Phelps Media Group’s worldwide acclaim was the creation, in 2006, of PhelpsSports.com, now one of the world’s most popular and talked about equestrian news websites. Under the guidance of Executive Director, Kenneth Kraus, a forty year veteran of the equestrian industry, the website has flourished, rapidly becoming the go-to-source for the latest news and commentary from throughout the horse show industry.
“It really is incredible when you look at what we’ve done at PhelpsSports.com since we opened for the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, in 2006,” Kraus said. “We’ve seen over 4,000 subscribers in seventy different countries around the globe join us for our quality equestrian content. From the most accurate and up-to-the-minute reporting to insightful commentary, the industry always turns to PhelpsSports.com on a daily basis,” he stated.
“I’m proud to say that our slogan, ‘the Gold Standard of Equestrian News,’ couldn’t be more accurate,” Phelps added.
While PhelpsSports.com has become a world-wide resource, Phelps and Kraus have made sure to keep the site involved locally too, sponsoring numerous local and regional events including the PhelpsSports.com Palm Beach Dressage Derby in Loxahatchee, Florida. PhelpsSports.com has also been instrumental in assisting many local and world-wide charities meet their goals.
Covering local equestrian news in the Village of Wellington and the State of Florida has been a key to the success of PhelpsSports.com. During the deadly EHV crisis in Wellington in 2006, PhelpsSports.com was hailed by horsemen across the United States as the “only real reliable source for accurate and up to the minute coverage of the crisis,” keeping the industry informed and staying ahead of all of the local media outlets in presenting the inside story as the deadly disease threatened to delay the start of that year’s Winter Equestrian Festival.
Representatives of PhelpsSports.com have been credentialed for top international events around the world including numerous World Cup Finals, two Olympic Games and most recently, the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky.
“As the equestrian industry advances to new horizons in the years to come, PhelpsSports.com will continue to lead the way in reporting and documenting that progress,” Kraus concluded. “We will always be “the Gold Standard.”
“We’re very excited about the future of the sport and we’re especially excited about the opportunities for Phelps Media Group to promote what lies ahead in the years to come,” agreed Phelps.
For more information please visit www.phelpsmediagroup.com or www.phelpssports.com.