Senior Vice President of Public Affairs & Chairman of the Penn National Gaming Foundation, PENN ENTERTAINMENT INC
Reading 120: Interview with Eric Schippers - Penn National Gaming
Eric Schippers is the Sr. Vice President, Public Affairs & Govt. Relations of Penn National Gaming, Inc. and in this interview during ...
About D. Schippers
In a 2016 interview during the Reading 120 cycling event, Eric Schippers, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Penn National Gaming, discussed the company's role as the children's program sponsor for the event. He stated that Penn National Gaming was collaborating with local nonprofits and the school district on earn-a-bike programs and family-friendly rides. Schippers described the initiative as "infusing this new energy in our city and hopefully redefining our city as an outdoor enthusiast destination." Schippers also noted his involvement with the IM Foundation, which provides adaptive equipment to disabled athletes, and mentioned a hand cycle demonstration at the event. He expressed hope that the children's programs would help identify future local racing talent and said the company expected to continue supporting the Reading 120 for a number of years.
Transcript (15 segments)
I
Interviewer0:00
Yeah, we're probably five miles from these guys entering the circuit, the breakaway, followed by the peloton. We're going to have an interview with Eric Shippers here, the Senior Vice President of Penn National Gaming. Penn National Gaming is the official Children's Program sponsor of the Reading 120 and really a key component and steward of helping to build and support Reading's future. We're going to take a break just in a few minutes, and when we come back, we'll have a chat with Eric.
So we're back in the racing action, and over the top of this, we wanted to do an interview with Eric Shippers, our Senior Vice President of Penn National Gaming. Eric, welcome. We know you did the cyclist sport event this morning. How was it?
D
D. Schippers0:39
I did. It was exciting. There's so much energy out there along the course. You have a lot of friends and neighbors sitting out there on their front porches, ringing cowbells and cheering you on. It's just great for all of Berks County.
I
Interviewer0:56
How was your ride? How was the weather? How was the terrain? Kind of give us in a nutshell how much fun you had.
D
D. Schippers1:01
Well, it's beautiful first and foremost. The countryside was just gorgeous, and then we got pelted pretty good by the rain, so it truly gave us a taste of what these pros are going through right now.
I
Interviewer1:12
We saw it. We were watching. We were like, how wet are you going to get?
D
D. Schippers1:16
Pretty wet. But you know, at that point when you're 50 miles or so in, you don't worry about the rain. It actually kind of cooled you down. But it's so pretty.
I
Interviewer1:24
Yeah, the pictures we've been getting have been unbelievable. And I've had the pleasure of being able to ride out here, and Marty grew up here, so we're glad to be here. The race looks spectacular. It really is. Now, Duryea Drive was a rude awakening. You go 76 miles of rolling countryside, a few hills, but then you hit Walnut Street and it's straight up from there. Nowhere to hide. Thought of doing that five times is almost unthinkable.
D
D. Schippers1:50
Well, we'll see the athletes coming here in probably the next 10 minutes or so, and we'll see five times up Mount Penn, the Pagoda. See what happens. But let's talk a bit about Penn National Gaming. You know, we thank you so much for your support of the event, really being a founding partner in this year's Reading 120. Tell us a little bit more about what you guys do and how you've come to be a part of the event.
Sure. Well, we're based right here in the Reading area, and so we're proud to be the children's sponsor this year and to support Reading's future. It's really helping with a collaboration between local nonprofits and the school district to do earn-a-bike programs, family-friendly rides at night where pros have come out and mingled with some of the local youth. It's just been a tremendous experience to learn camaraderie and how to be active. I think it's infusing this new energy in our city and hopefully redefining our city as an outdoor enthusiast destination.
I
Interviewer2:55
Well, we definitely have a great terrain and great local community here, a real sense of spirit and camaraderie. We've been here a couple days, and it's been great. We've been welcomed with open arms from the community.
D
D. Schippers3:06
You mentioned it. The terrain's wonderful, the riding is spectacular, and helping that active lifestyle message for the community is really great. It's awesome. And we've got guys like Ryan DeWald, who is a local pro cyclist who actually is challenged with type one diabetes, out there on the course. So hopefully people are rooting for one of our hometown guys. We've got a lot of good racers here. And importantly too, with these children's programs, guys like Ryan have identified the future of racing in this area. Kids who are showing a lot of talent, as you may have seen in the race earlier for the children. There's some talented guys out there, and hopefully they can earn some bikes and get out there and get active and maybe be in this race someday.
I
Interviewer3:50
Absolutely. Yeah, Marty and I were talking about, I don't know if you got to hear us blabbering, but super exciting to see such a great turnout that you had in the children's programs. Just numbers and numbers of kids racing through it, getting both those kids out and active on their bike, but also getting some of that cycling bug. They definitely want to race each other and have fun and get their medal. Our future champions are all going to come from those programs, so it's very exciting. You know, one of the other exciting aspects is the hand cycle demonstration. I'm on the board of the IM Foundation, which provides adaptive equipment to disabled athletes, and Chris Keg, the founder, is out there showing the demonstration. So there's so many aspects to this Reading 120 that really opens up new doors of opportunity for people who want to be active in this area. Now, it's a great thing that you guys are doing. Thank you again for being such a great founding partner for us, and we hope and expect to be here for a number of years. We really appreciate it.
D
D. Schippers4:46
We're proud to support it, and thank you.
I
Interviewer4:49
Oh, no problem. Thank you guys. I think we're just getting closer to the breakaway getting into town, so I think we're going to bid Eric adieu and get Marty back in here to see who's going to win this first sprint. Thanks.