Chicago Ping Pong® Festival 2000 Gets Enthusiastic
Sponsorship From a Basement Evangelist

For years Robert Blackwell Jr., President of Electronic Knowledge Interchange (EKI) has been extolling the virtues of table tennis. He has been known to attempt to persuade just about anyone to play him in table tennis down in his basement. When unable to find people to play with on a regular basis, he decided he to join a club to become acquainted with people who, like him, reveled in the sport of table tennis and weren't afraid to work up a good sweat.

Robert conveys that "table tennis can be a very mentally and physically challenging sport. The good news is that it really is a sport the entire family can participate in, from grandma/grandpa to kids who can barely see above the table!!!! However to become a highly skilled and/or competitive player it takes discipline and years of dedicated practice."

Robert admits that although he practices several times a week he does not consider himself to be an intimidating opponent. He also admits that he would like to see more city youth become acquainted with the sport. Earlier this year EKI donated five table tennis tables, a robot that shoots out balls, and other table tennis equipment to Kennicott Park, a Chicago Park District facility located in the North Kenwood/Oakland community.

The EKI staff admits that they were amazed to hear about the city's plans to re-enliven table tennis. Robert however confesses, "I was so inspired by the entire initiative, i.e. the Chicago Ping Pong ® Festival 2000 and the Chicago Park District's three year plan thereafter, that I just wanted to get involved to help make the whole thing happen." This accounts for why Blackwell's staff was not at all surprised to find out that among other things, he had committed the company to build the website, and that he had agreed to chair the Ping Pong® 2000 Committee. "I am really excited to be a part of this, says Blackwell and I am especially excited about the idea of appealing to the Chicago technology community to become involved in the festival matches."

Robert concedes that his intentions are undoubtedly self-serving and that this ensures him that there will soon be a new batch of table tennis mercenaries not too far off in the distant future!!!

Blackwell's staff has asked him if he plans to have a 'Love of the Game' clause put in his next Employment Contract. EKI, an official sponsor of the Chicago Ping Pong® 2000 Festival is a provider of leading edge e-business solutions, web-based application development and implementation services.