OOBE

In early December 2007, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), a division of ESPN and ESPN Outdoors, announced that Greenville, SC would be its host city for its annual world championship of bass fishing, the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. With February 22nd, the first day of competition, looming menacingly close on the calendar, plans had to come together quickly to create the kind of environment that would be both attractive and convenient for the professional anglers and the large contingent of fishing fans that would flood Greenville over a week long period. ESPN, the city of Greenville, and the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau enlisted the help of Southern Hospitality Group Events Management (SHGEM) to plan and execute the event and manage the myriad of logistical details inherent to an event of this magnitude.

SHGEM immediately approached OOBE with the idea of OOBE serving as the official apparel provider to the Bassmaster Classic. In that role, OOBE would be responsible for outfitting the 150 or so visiting B.A.S.S. personnel that would be staffing the event plus the 175+ volunteer Greenville Ambassadors that would serve across the city and in and around the event venues as hosts/hostesses and information providers for the thousands of first-time visitors to Greenville.

OOBE designed and deployed unique, but coordinated outfits for each staff and volunteer role. Functional, quick-dry fishing/outdoor shirts were provided to all the B.A.S.S. staffers, while the volunteer Ambassadors were allocated the signature OOBE Flog polo. All staff and volunteers were provided the OOBE softshell Summit jacket to keep out the cold, wind, and the rain that are prevalent in SC during the month of February. The end result by any measure was a huge success… a well-dressed staff to host the tournament… easily-identifiable volunteers to make the experience stress-free and enjoyable for the visitors and patrons… and a well-deserved endorsement of Greenville as a world-class host city when all was said and done.