PHILADELPHIA -- Wawa Inc. will be replacing Sunoco Inc. as the City of Philadelphia's title sponsor of its Welcome America! celebrations for the Fourth of July 2010, festival officials announced on Friday. Sunoco, headquartered in Philadelphia, had been associated with the multi-day event since the mid-1990s.
Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Wawa officials made the announcement about the sponsorship at a new Wawa store under construction in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.
"The City of Philadelphia, Welcome America and Wawa look forward to hosting all of the [image-nocss] great July Fourth festivities in Philadelphia this summer," said Nutter, the festival's chairman. "Through the generous support of Wawa, an established company in our area, we can strengthen our commitment to what is widely regarded as the finest July Fourth festival anywhere in the entire country. And what better place than in our city?"
Howard Stoeckel, president and CEO of Wawa, said, "We are thrilled to be the title sponsor of this important regional celebration at a time when the eyes of the nation are on the great city of Philadelphia. For Wawa, this collaboration is extremely fitting and meaningful, as we have roots that travel deep both within the City of Philadelphia and within the Welcome America festivities. We are proud to call Philadelphia our hometown and our associates are excited to help present a series of free events to the community that add fun, patriotism and hometown pride to our region."
Melanie Johnson, city representative and Welcome America executive director, said the goal was to establish a winning partnership by aligning the Welcome America brand with an established business that is both family-oriented and dedicated to the community. "We are proud that Welcome America events have always been free to the public and designed for the enjoyment of the entire family," Johnson said. "And now, starting in 2010, through our new sponsorship agreement with Wawa, a well-known local company, we can proudly maintain our commitment to the public by offering quality activities and entertainment at no cost."
Wawa will contribute more than $3 million over three years in funding and services to the festival, officials said, according to a report by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sunoco's contract expired last year, and it is not participating in the festival this year, Johnson, told the newspaper. "They've been a great partner," she said.
She referred questions about why Sunoco chose not to continue its involvement to the oil company. Sunoco spokesperson Thomas Golembeski told the Inquirer that the company had decided to redirect its community resources to education, workforce development and environmental stewardship, and being the main sponsor of the festival was not part of its plans.
"We fulfilled our contract" last year and notified festival organizers that "we would not stand in the way of another company stepping in," Golembeski added. "We had a great run," he said of the sponsorship.
Wawa was one of the participants of the inaugural Welcome America event, featuring its popular Hoagie Day, which continued to be a Philadelphia tradition for 10 years. During Hoagie Day, Wawa built hoagies in excess of two miles, even surrounding City Hall.
The City of Philadelphia and Wawa have a longstanding relationship through community projects such as Operation Brotherly Love in conjunction with the Mayor's Office of Community Services.
Welcome America attracts thousands of visitors to Philadelphia annually to celebrate the Fourth of July. The city takes center stage each year, welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors to historical, cultural and family entertainment programming and hosts the largest free concert in America featuring premier musical headliners.
Welcome America is a multi-day festival that celebrates America's birthday in America's birthplace and is produced by Welcome America Inc.
Wawa, headquartered in Wawa, Pa., operates more than 570 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. In 2009, Wawa opened 11 new stores in its chain, and since 2004, seven new stores have open in Philadelphia. Wawa is the single largest purveyor of freshly made and built-to-order hoagies in the Delaware Valley, it said.
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