The Boilermaker Road Race logo will feature the name of the city of Utica in 2009 after all.
Versions of the 2009 logo printed on a banner and T-shirts sold over race weekend had included no mention of Utica. On Monday, Boilermaker Executive Director Tim Reed said the race organization was considering a more regional approach to marketing the race.
On Tuesday, however, race officials sent the Observer-Dispatch a version of the 2009 logo that features the words “Utica, N.Y.” on the swooping arm of the race's signature stylized runner. And Mayor David Roefaro said he spoke on the telephone with Reed earlier in the day and received assurances the city's name would be included.
“As long as it's the Utica Boilermaker, I'm a happy mayor,” Roefaro said.
The O-D raised the marketing issue in a story published Tuesday. With that story, the newspaper incorrectly printed an image of the Boilermaker's corporate logo, not the 2009 logo, which is printed today.
Boilermaker Merchandizing Director Mello Testa, who is also Oneida County's director of purchasing and was a long-time member of the Utica Common Council, said he was upset when he first noticed that the city's name was missing on shirts given to race officials Saturday.
“As soon as I saw it I went right to Tim Reed and I questioned why the name is not on there,” Testa said. “
Reed could not be reached Tuesday.
Utica city spends about $50,000 on the Boilermaker, Roefaro said. That spending covers public safety and public works.
“I would have been averse to them taking away the Utica name, to say the least,” he said.
On Monday, asked if the “Utica” name would remain part of the race's marketing, he said: “I'm not sure if we are going to stick with it or not.”
“We draw from Utica, we draw from Rome, we draw from the entire community,” he said.
