AKALI in the Outdoor, Adventure and Cause Communities
The Mission
To capitalize on the goodwill and notoriety developed by some of the world’s most prolific and
well-respected Adventure Racers, endurance athletes, and inspiring Survivors in order to gain
exposure for AKALI in the Outdoor, Multi-sport, Adventure, Women’s, Cause/Non-Profit,
Paddling, Orienteering, Mountain Biking and Running markets. The way we see it, the best way
to reach new AKALI users is to garner positive publicity, provide education to end users, and
generate Goodwill for the brand through our inspired (and inspiring!) Team Merrell/AKALI and
Project Athena Ambassadors, who will help reach AKALI’s target market via coaching at
adventure camps, sharing their knowledge/experience at event clinics, extensive social
networking featuring Team Merrell/AKALI and the Project Athena cause , engaging
writers/editors in media camps, motivational speaking, race appearances that encourage and
inspire other athletes, proactive PR efforts with television and outdoor/women’s magazines,
and creating unique entry-level adventures through the Akali Project Athena Racing Series….
AKALI is a Presenting Sponsor of Team Project Athena and The Project
Athena Foundation…Helping Survivors Live Their Athletic Dreams
Project Athena is a non-profit foundation that encourages women who've endured life altering medical
setbacks like breast cancer to unleash the "adventurer" within and complete the journey of a lifetime-whether that be to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, cross the finish line of an Ironman Triathlon, or fall into the
arms of a proud family at the end of a local 5K. Project Athena provides coaching, equipment, travel
expenses, entry fees, and, most importantly the encouragement and inspiration to help our amazing
"Athenas" make that life affirming transition from Survivor to Athlete.
Project Athena's 'Founders Team', Robyn Benincasa, Louise Cooper, Melissa Cleary and Florence
Debout, are no strangers to medical setbacks themselves, as their passion for helping other women live
their dreams comes from hard fought battles with Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, life-threatening
traumatic injuries, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and more than a few metal body parts. :) But instead of sitting
back and taking these medical setbacks like the ladies they are, they're driven to shepherd other women
through that tunnel of hopelessness by bringing a renewed sense of adventure and self confidence to
their recovering souls. Doctors and scientists can cure the body--Project Athena cures the Spirit.
Recent "Athenaship" recipients include:
* Lonnie Kitch (55)--A breast cancer survivor (and the first female firefighter west of the Mississippi) whom
we took on a hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in September 2009
*Kerrie Larsen Kerkman (40), a woman with a congenital spinal degeneration (she had her spine fused)
who dreamed of running on the Great Wall in China. We trained her for a marathon and she crossed the
finish line, hand in hand with Project Athena Co-Founder, Melissa Cleary, in May 2009, right in the middle
of the pack!
*Sara Jones (36), a 2 time Breast Cancer Survivor who dreamed of trail running in Costa Rica. In Feb
2009, she raced side by side in the 155 mile Coastal Challenge stage ultramarathon with Project Athena's
Founders!
Project Athena's most recent mission (Oct 1-4 2009) was a "Fundraising Goddess/God Adventure" (a
South Rim to North Rim to South Rim trek--44 miles in all) across the Grand Canyon with 22 amazing
women and men who each raised $1800 for the Project Athena Foundation. They were also
accompanied by an Athenaship Recipient and Breast Cancer Survivor, Sandy "Sunshine" Kilburg, who
had never even seen the Grand Canyon, much less hiked across it!
AKALI is now the Official Title Sponsor of the AKALI Project Athena Racing Series
AKALI is now the Official Title Sponsor of the new and completely unique “AKALI Project
Athena Racing Series”, which will bring the AKALI brand a great deal of Goodwill due to the fact
that all event proceeds will go to the Project Athena Foundation as well as a local non-profit in
each market. These events (13 total in 2010-2012) will be a “Family Day”, comprised of a 15k
“God and Goddess Road Race” followed by a 5k “Athena Adventure Challenge” (in which teams
of 2-6 women have a scavenger-hunt style off-road teambuilding journey together) and finishing
with a Mini Athena and Mini Zeus Adventure Challenge for the kids. The focus of the event will
be on raising funds for the Foundation, so it’s fitting that Survivors will race for free and will be
honored at the end of each event. The first stop on the AKALI Project Athena Series Tour will be
in San Diego on May 8, 2010, followed by races in Nashville this Summer and Raleigh, NC in
October. Victoria Seahorn, the Founder of the ING Georgia Marathon will be joining our
marketing team as the event producer for the AKALI Project Athena Series. She’s an incredibly
accomplished race director and will be a huge asset to our team.
AKALI is the Co-Title Sponsor of the Merrell/AKALI Adventure Team 2010-2012
The Merrell/AKALI Adventure Team is a roster of 10 world class athlete ambassadors who will
compete in several high profile team-based adventure events each year. The outdoor sports in
which we will compete include: Adventure Racing, Trail Running, Ultra Running, Mountain
Biking, Road Biking, Endurance Paddling, Mountaineering, Snowshoeing, Orienteering, and
Endurance Road Cycling . The goal for our teams in these events will be:
--To promote the benefits of AKALI Glacier Water by sharing product and information with
racers, giving AKALI Glacier Water as awards, and/or representing AKALI in a booth on-site at
races and events
--To generate positive PR for AKALI Glacier Water through our teams’ performance, positive
attitudes, and team spirit
--To create a media-worthy story that benefits AKALI Glacier Water for on-site producers/writers
The Merrell/AKALI Adventure Team Calendar for 2010 includes:
*Australia XPD Adventure Race, 6-10 days non-stop (Queensland) Merrell/AKALI Adventure
Racers
* Namibia Desert Challenge Ultra Run, 150 miles, 5 days , Namibia, Team Project Athena
Members
*Missouri River 340 Paddling Race/Texas Water Safari/Colorado River 100 Merrell/AKALI
Paddling Team
*The Race Across the West Ultracycling race or Hoodoo 500 (Utah) Merrell/AKALI Cycling team
*Project Athena Fundraising Goddess Adventure—Rim to Rim to Rim Grand Canyon Trek
AKALI is a Presenting Sponsor of Robyn Benincasa’s World Class Teams and Flashover
Seminars Keynotes and Corporate Teambuilding Adventures
World Class Teams has been in business since 2002, and offers corporations meaningful and unique
keynotes and outdoor experiential teambuilding events using the platform of the extreme endurance sport
of Adventure Racing. Flashover Seminars offers similar teambuilding keynotes and experiential events,
in this case using the platform of Firefighting (Robyn’s a full-time Firefighter for the City of San Diego), to
illustrate that magic that allows groups of ordinary people to do extraordinary things together. We
average 2 keynotes per month and 4-5 outdoor events per year, mainly for Fortune 500 Companies. In
2009, Robyn performed in front of her biggest audience to date, 7000 people, for a Dallas-based multilevel marketing company. The standing ovation was pretty awesome, and something she’ll never forget!
Clients include: Starbucks (have performed 12 keynotes for them to date), Nestle Nutrition (3), Wal Mart
(booked for their national sales meeting for 12,000 attendees in 2010), Siemens Medical Solutions (3),
Boeing (2), Lockheed Martin, AT&T (2), CVS Pharmacy, Young Presidents Organization, Jamba Juice,
Wyeth, Aflac, Tony Robbins Leadership Academy, Honda/Acura, Help Desk Industries, The Four
Seasons Resorts, Coldwell Banker, Earthlink, Merrell, Fast Company Magazine…etc.
Testimonials for Robyn Benincasa and World Class Teams...
"Hey Robyn... i saw you speak at leadership academy in 2006 and you were my ABSOLUTE favorite
speaker..I got goosebumps when i saw your video footage and so admire all your dedication and
strength! You so inspire me and when I have a hard time with workouts...I think of how kick-ass u
are...and keep going! So much love to you Robyn...u rock!"
- Jennifer Brown, Anthony Robbins Leadership Academy
"I have known Robyn Benincasa for a number of years, and have utilized her talents as both a speaker,
as well as a leader of team oriented events. While the SVP for the Western U.S. for Starbucks Coffee, I
selected her as both the lead speaker, as well as the team leader, for our annual Store Manager
Leadership Conference, held in Tacoma, Washington. The event was an overwhelming success. In fact,
6 years later, they are still talking about the key learnings, the fun, and the excitement of working together
as a team. She also addressed the national Leadership Conference for Starbucks Coffee, speaking to
about a 1000 attendees, including the Board of Directors, Howard Schultz, the founder, as well as the
senior leadership team, the corporate office, and the entire field organization for Starbucks. She was a
great success.
Likewise, 2 years ago I was the C.O.O. for It's A Grind Coffee Houses, and we invited Robyn to facilitate
a one day team building event, as well as deliver the keynote address at the first ever national Franchisee
Convention. She went above and beyond, ensuring the success of the event, and providing much in the
way of key learnings the each Franchisee could take back to their individual businesses. I can
recommend Robyn and her team to provide an exceptional event that will thrill the audience short term,
and provide meaningful change in the long-term as she provides key insights into the synergies of
building a World Class team. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call. "
-- John Alderson, Zone V.P. Starbucks/C.O.O. It's a Grind