Title Sponsor of City's Dad Vail Regatta Re-ups For 3 More Years
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With the 75th Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta getting underway today on the Schuylkill River, there was some additional good news for rowing fans in the city and across the country: the sponsor announced a three-year extension of its support.
Aberdeen first stepped up in 2010, when the Dad Vail regatta almost moved to New Jersey, and Aberdeen Asset Management CEO GaryMarshall says the past four years have been a great experience.
"We had the opportunity to save the regatta for the city, to bring it back to the city, (and) we've had a great association with the city," he said this morning.
Mayor Nutter says US Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.) deserves the credit for getting Aberdeen on board when there was a threat that the Dad Vail would leave the city (see previous story). And the mayor says the three-year extension gives stability to the regatta, and to the city.
"It's a part of who we are and what we're about," the mayor said today. "The Dad Vail Regatta is almost like the Mummer's Parade -- where else would that be but Philadelphia?"
The Dad Vail was first held here in 1934, but skipped a couple years during World War II. It's the largest college regatta, with a record-setting 128 schools taking part this year.
