Sponsor Spotlight: RICOH
Originally printed in Sport Quarterly, March 2010

Supporting local sport has always been a priority for IKON and the new parent company shares the same philosophy, says Vincent Gauthier, RICOH’s Director for Atlantic Canada.

“We do believe that sport touches so much of the community,” Gauthier says. “It has as much reach as any other activity out there, if not more than most activities. Most of our clients are highly involved in the sport community, so it makes sense from that point.”

Gauthier says RICOH is especially proud to maintain a key role with the annual Sport Awards, which honour Nova Scotia’s top athletes, coaches, officials and organizations each year, as well as recognizing standouts within each Provincial Sport Organization (PSO).

“The Sport Awards have grown into a phenomenal event,” Gauthier says. “It’s a highlight of the sport calendar for every single PSO, from skiing and athletics to rowing and sailing.”

RICOH would like to build upon IKON’s involvement in local sport and extend it even further. The company was an event sponsor for the Canadian Junior Freestyle Skiing championships held at Wentworth in late February.

It was the first of what Gauthier hopes are many direct partnerships with Provincial Sport Organizations. “Our goal is to become more active,” Gauthier says. “We want to become more involved with the members that make up Sport Nova Scotia.”

RICOH is a business-to-business organization that supplies hardware, support and services for office necessities such as copiers and printers.

RICOH services many Nova Scotian schools, hospitals and universities, as well as a large portion of the business world.

“The RICOH technology is probably what most people see every day; they just might not know it’s us,” Gauthier says.

The company has shown its support for sport across Canada and beyond. RICOH was an official supporter of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and has sponsored everything from professional tennis tournaments to LPGA golf events. In Toronto, the AHL’s Marlies play out of the RICOH Coliseum.

“RICOH has a long history of involvement with sport,” Gauthier says. “We’re very committed to sport and amateur sport in Atlantic Canada, so coming on board with the RICOH Sport Awards is right up our alley.”

Sponsor Spotlight: IKON Sport Awards Approach Ten-Year Milestone
Originally printed in Sport Quarterly, December 2005

Whether it means following up with customer service or spon-soring amateur sport, IKON is a company built on providing support.

The evidence lies in both the 7,000 customer support professionals (of 30,000 total employees) IKON employs worldwide, and the fact 2006 will mark the tenth year IKON has been the title sponsor of Sport Nova Scotia’s annual IKON Sport Awards.

IKON is the world’s largest independent distributor of document management products and services, with 600 offices in North America and Europe, including a regional office in Halifax and an office in Sydney. Darryl Wiseman, director of sales for Quebec and Atlantic, says that how the company chooses to get in-volved in community activities is left to the discretion of regional managers, and the association with the Sport Awards and Sport Nova Scotia is one that works on a number of levels.

“I can tell you from the beginning our organization had a lot of people who were into different sports, and so there was a natural association,” he says. “From a business view, there’s a huge belief that Sport Nova Scotia is one rare organization that touches so many members of the community, with a family member either partici-pating, volunteering or competing in sport.”

Beyond providing exposure for the company, Wiseman points out that promoting sport is a good business plan for the future.

“For the future of our business, there’s a natural affinity with some-thing so healthy,” he says. “I hope most people who go through Sport Nova Scotia programs will be customers someday, and I hope some will be employees.”

“People ask me ‘why does IKON support Sport Nova Scotia?’,” Wise-man continues. “The answer I give is that we believe participation in sports provide a foundation for excellence in life beyond the game. Discipline and competitive spirit and team work and the passion to win are the same concepts we try to apply every day in order to be successful in business.”