Steve Sims Receives Warm Greeting from the
Tourism Board, Concurrent with its Presentation of the Largest Rev Run Donation to Date

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (July 26, 2017) -- The Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board (VFTCB) gathered at Valley Forge National Historical Park to present a $54,000 check, its annual donation of funds raised by April’s Valley Forge Revolutionary 5-Mile Run®.

The event also marked the centennial of the dedication of the National Memorial Arch, one of the icons of Valley Forge. Among the elected officials, volunteers and staff who attended, the VFTCB also brought family members of Helen Davis Debus, a 104-year-old Sanatoga resident who was at the dedication on June 17, 1917.

Since the inception of the Rev Run in 2005, the VFTCB has given back more than $300,000 in support to Valley Forge, a site that attracted 2.4 million visitors in 2016. Steve Sims, the newly named superintendent is also a runner, having participated twice in the five-mile race.

“Valley Forge National Historical Park is one of the region’s most visited destinations and we are thrilled to present our largest-ever donation to help support key programming and improvement projects in the Park with funds from this year’s Rev Run,” said Mike Bowman, president and CEO, Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board.

“We’re honored to receive this significant contributions, and we consider ourselves fortunate to have a committed park partner like we have in the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board,” says Superintendent Steve Sims. “As a two-time Rev Run participant, I look forward to utilizing this contribution to enhance the visitor experience within the park and also seeing the race continue for years to come.”

Sims also emphasized the Park’s economic impact in the region. In 2016, Valley Forge National Historical Park contributed an economic impact of $30.7M and 540 jobs to the local economy.

This event also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Memorial Arch, a significant historical landmark in Rev Run’s five-mile course. Designed by Paul Philippe Cret, the National Memorial Arch was built to commemorate the arrival of General George Washington and his Continental Army into Valley Forge. Family members of Helen Davis Debus, a 1045-year-old area resident who attended the original dedication of the National Memorial Arch in 1917, represented her at the ceremony.

The event also included a special storytelling performance from Historic Philadelphia, Inc. (HPI), as $20,000 of the donated Rev Run funds will support HPI’s “Once Upon a Nation" free seasonal storytelling program and interactive “Secrets and Spies” family program in the Park for the 2017 season.

Rev Run will also support various infrastructure improvement projects in the Park:

  • Future maintenance needs of Sullivan's Bridge, the new pedestrian span over the Schuylkill River
  • Design and fabrication work on the public trailhead and overlook improvements as part of a new Meadow Trail/Meadow Management Plan
  • Expansion of the outdoor garden in front of the Visitor Center entrance
  • Design and fabrication of new park information and orientation panels at a new kiosk between the Visitor Center and parking lot

 

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The Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board is a nonprofit, membership-based sales and marketing organization that actively promotes the Valley Forge area and Montgomery County, Pa., as a convention site and leisure visitor destination by encouraging patronage of its 500-plus member hotels, restaurants, attractions and services. The Board’s award-winning website, valleyforge.org, serves visitors, meeting planners, tour operators and residents, as well as hosts The Pursuit, a nationally recognized twice-weekly blog.