Contact:
Irene Miller Wezel, CBICC
(irene@cbicc.org | 980-333-5415)
Lesley Kistner, HVAB
(LesleyK@happyvalley.com | 814-769-9490)
Irene Miller Wezel, CBICC
(irene@cbicc.org | 980-333-5415)
Lesley Kistner, HVAB
(LesleyK@happyvalley.com | 814-769-9490)
For Immediate Release:
NIL-Community Discussion Announced
Unveiling of HappyValleyTalent.com, Connecting Businesses with Student-Athletes and Alumni
State College, PA – HappyValleyTalent.com, a new platform for businesses and Penn State student-athletes to connect, will be unveiled on September 2 during a webinar co-hosted by the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC) and The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB). The webinar will begin with remarks by Penn State’s Vice-President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Sandy Barbour.
“The opportunity created by this new law that allows Penn State's world-class student-athletes to work directly with our businesses has the potential to be truly meaningful to our community's economy success now and in the future,” stated Vern Squier, CBICC President/CEO. “It is imperative that we come out of the blocks fast, facilitating this two-way communication.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) rule update that allowed student-athletes to personally profit from their name, image, and likeness became a reality in Pennsylvania this summer with recent legislation that passed and was signed into law in Harrisburg.
Penn State student-athletes are prohibited by law from projects involving certain products (including, for example, alcohol, tobacco, and gambling), as well as from projects that may conflict with a current sponsorship agreement held by Penn State. Additionally, student-athletes must submit agreements to Penn State – via the Spry platform - for review.
With a dedicated tab for this type of compliance information, HappyValleyTalent.com (a collaborative project of CBICC and HVAB) is set to be unveiled this month. The website offers a one-stop experience for businesses looking for partnerships with Penn State student-athletes, and vice versa. Accounts are available and customized for student-athletes, alumni athletes, general students, businesses, and fans.
The business-athlete private portion of the website allows for easy creation of profiles, searching, sorting, communicating, posting of availability, and posting confirmed events; there is also a tab for general information regarding compliance. The public portion of the platform allows fans to create accounts, view confirmed events, and receive notifications when an event with their favorite student-athlete or alumni athlete is posted.
HappyValleyTalent.com’s involvement of not only student-athletes and businesses, but also the fans allows for a start-to-finish experience. Businesses utilizing the platform will be able to publicize their events with student-athletes in order to raise customer awareness – and attendance – with those who have created fan accounts.
“I’m confident that Penn State’s enormous alumni and fan network will enjoy this platform,” emphasized Fritz Smith, President/CEO of HVAB, the official tourism promotion agency for Centre County. “Fans and alumni who sign-up will receive notifications and be the first to know when an event is scheduled. From that notification, they can quickly schedule their next visit to Happy Valley. Conversely, those considering a trip to the area can peruse the calendar to see whose autograph or photo they can get to enhance their next visit.”
For businesses ready to jump into this new NIL-era but not quite sure where exactly to jump, or those that are intrigued but would like more details, all are encouraged to attend the webinar at noon on Sept. 2. Visit https://cbicc.biz/ZoomSept2 to RSVP.
Businesses holding current memberships with CBICC, HVAB, Downtown State College Improvement District, Patton Township Business Association, Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Bellefonte Inc., Moshannon Valley Economic Development Partnership, Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation, East Penns Valley Community Business Association, and/or Blair County Chamber of Commerce may create a free business profile on HappyValleyTalent.com as an additional benefit of membership.
Whether you’re a fan, business, or student-athlete, we hope to see you soon at HappyValleyTalent.com!
# # #
Happy Valley Talent is a joint effort by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC) and The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB).
The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization with a mission of improving the economy in Centre County, Pennsylvania.
The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization with a mission to develop, promote, and engage in travel related activities and coordinate visitor services designed to enhance the economic activity and quality of life within the county and thereby contribute to the commonwealth. HVAB is the official tourism promotion agency for Centre County.
“The opportunity created by this new law that allows Penn State's world-class student-athletes to work directly with our businesses has the potential to be truly meaningful to our community's economy success now and in the future,” stated Vern Squier, CBICC President/CEO. “It is imperative that we come out of the blocks fast, facilitating this two-way communication.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) rule update that allowed student-athletes to personally profit from their name, image, and likeness became a reality in Pennsylvania this summer with recent legislation that passed and was signed into law in Harrisburg.
Penn State student-athletes are prohibited by law from projects involving certain products (including, for example, alcohol, tobacco, and gambling), as well as from projects that may conflict with a current sponsorship agreement held by Penn State. Additionally, student-athletes must submit agreements to Penn State – via the Spry platform - for review.
With a dedicated tab for this type of compliance information, HappyValleyTalent.com (a collaborative project of CBICC and HVAB) is set to be unveiled this month. The website offers a one-stop experience for businesses looking for partnerships with Penn State student-athletes, and vice versa. Accounts are available and customized for student-athletes, alumni athletes, general students, businesses, and fans.
The business-athlete private portion of the website allows for easy creation of profiles, searching, sorting, communicating, posting of availability, and posting confirmed events; there is also a tab for general information regarding compliance. The public portion of the platform allows fans to create accounts, view confirmed events, and receive notifications when an event with their favorite student-athlete or alumni athlete is posted.
HappyValleyTalent.com’s involvement of not only student-athletes and businesses, but also the fans allows for a start-to-finish experience. Businesses utilizing the platform will be able to publicize their events with student-athletes in order to raise customer awareness – and attendance – with those who have created fan accounts.
“I’m confident that Penn State’s enormous alumni and fan network will enjoy this platform,” emphasized Fritz Smith, President/CEO of HVAB, the official tourism promotion agency for Centre County. “Fans and alumni who sign-up will receive notifications and be the first to know when an event is scheduled. From that notification, they can quickly schedule their next visit to Happy Valley. Conversely, those considering a trip to the area can peruse the calendar to see whose autograph or photo they can get to enhance their next visit.”
For businesses ready to jump into this new NIL-era but not quite sure where exactly to jump, or those that are intrigued but would like more details, all are encouraged to attend the webinar at noon on Sept. 2. Visit https://cbicc.biz/ZoomSept2 to RSVP.
Businesses holding current memberships with CBICC, HVAB, Downtown State College Improvement District, Patton Township Business Association, Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Bellefonte Inc., Moshannon Valley Economic Development Partnership, Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation, East Penns Valley Community Business Association, and/or Blair County Chamber of Commerce may create a free business profile on HappyValleyTalent.com as an additional benefit of membership.
Whether you’re a fan, business, or student-athlete, we hope to see you soon at HappyValleyTalent.com!
# # #
Happy Valley Talent is a joint effort by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC) and The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB).
The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization with a mission of improving the economy in Centre County, Pennsylvania.
The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization with a mission to develop, promote, and engage in travel related activities and coordinate visitor services designed to enhance the economic activity and quality of life within the county and thereby contribute to the commonwealth. HVAB is the official tourism promotion agency for Centre County.
