1. September 21, 2016
To whom it may concern,
It’s a pleasure to highly recommend Paul Blackketter. I first heard of the rowing facility
several years ago that Paul operated which was touted as United States first permanent
Olympic level rowing facility. I visited Paul and the facility while it was under construction
and soon realized that the vision was a great opportunity for our Olympic hopefuls in
several sports. Paul started working with US Rowing to move the US Rowing Olympic
Trials from NJ to Sarasota to elevate the athlete, spectator and television fan experience
and showcase the community and sport of rowing in the lead-up to the Rio Olympic
Games
Paul’s confidence and enthusiasm of the park was contagious. The US Olympic Committee
and US Rowing selected Nathan Benderson Park to host their 2016 Olympic Trials. This
move was particularly important to US Rowing and their athletes because for the first
time NBC was able to feature rowing trials at a world class venue. Furthermore, the
broadcast coverage allowed the Nathan Benderson Park to be showcased to a national
audience and its capabilities as a future venue to support many sports within the Olympic
movement. Our Olympic trials were a huge success due to the design and management
of the venue, Paul’s management of his highly capable and professional on-site staff and
volunteers as well as the community partnerships has created a first class sports
destination for Sarasota.
In addition to Rowing Trials, Paul developed strong relationships with other Olympic and
Paralympic sport governing bodies to successfully execute international level events and
raise awareness locally and domestically for less mainstream sports, such as Modern
Pentathlon.
Our USOC team was proud to work with Paul and his group to execute such a great
Olympic Trials event and ultimately appreciate his support in elevating key Olympic and
Paralympic sports to levels they deserve.
Chester Wheeler
US Olympic Committee – Sr. Director, NGB Business Development