This new change will help with something that has always been one of the GSOC's concerns- brand recognition. Through the years people have called the organization G-Soc(k), or the GSOC and are unsure about what the abbreviation stands for. The logo causes the same problem; it has long just been spelled out GSOC without identifying what the organization does and where its based.

The 25 volunteer members of the GSOC Board of Trustees agreed to make a change after the then president-elect Wende Blumberg, attended the 2005 National Association of Sports Commission (NASC) Annual Symposium in Portland, OR. Blumberg saw the GSOC logo being used in unfamiliar territory and she realized there needed to be some adjustments.

"The original choice for our name," according to Jack Hughes, GSOC Executive Director, "made sense as we formed during a time that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) was seeking training sites to be included in its offerings to the International Olympic Committee. The GSOC was formed then and the 'organizing committee' use was very familiar to ACOG."

"Much has changed since our founding in 1988, we did host some Olympic training here, the swimming team from Great Britain, but following that we moved forward to become the official agency of record with Alachua County for sports tourism." Hughes continued.

The GSOC now operates under two contacts with Alachua County; one contract provides an annual $100,000 "bid pool" to bid for hosting and assisting others in hosting events and pay for costs associated with as many as 30 events each year. The other contract underwrites annual operations costs associated with the GSOC mission of building sports tourism in Alachua County. The GSOC helps create an annual economic impact of about $10 million for our local economy. Since its inception, more than $150 million has been generated in direct economic activity from participants and spectators to GSOC hosted and assisted events.

"Now we are not just an 'organizing committee', " Hughes said. The GSOC does host about five events each year where it is responsible for planning and organizing. It also helps support 30 or more events annually through bid and event pool funds provided through bed tax funds managed by the Tourist Development Council and the Alachua County Visitors and Convention Bureau.

"We still pride ourselves on being able to effectively organize events, but we've become more and we think that when we unveil our new name and logo, people will no longer be confused about who we are, " Hughes concluded.

The 2007 GSOC Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner will be on January 18, 2007 at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center at 6:00 p.m. During the dinner, the GSOC will recognize the dedicated individuals who have contributed to the local quality of life, the installment of the 2007 GSOC Officers and Directors, and the unveiling of the new name and logo. For more information about the GSOC Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner, please contact the GSOC at 352-338-9300 or email: aalston@gsoc.com or jcacciatore@gsoc.com.