Carnegie Learning Plays in Steelers/Packers Super Bowl Wager
Green Bay and Pittsburgh Chambers Bet on a Great Game with Products Showcasing Manufacturing and Innovation Expertise
“Titletown” squares off against “The City of Champions” ahead of Super Bowl XLV
(Green Bay and Pittsburgh – February 2, 2011) – Two of America’s great manufacturing centers are making the most of their latest run at NFL glory by putting homemade products, full of 21st-century innovation, on the line. The Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce is squaring off against the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.
“We make more than great football teams in Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Not only does Wisconsin have the highest percentage of its workforce in manufacturing among all states, but Green Bay’s economy is rapidly evolving with next-generation manufacturing entities on the forefront,” said Fred Monique, president of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. “And we’re so confident that the Packers are poised to win their 13th NFL Championship – more than any other team – that we’re willing to risk a basket full of our best against anything Pittsburgh can put on the table.”
With an eye to benefiting the less fortunate, Monique has teamed up with American Prosthetics Components, Inc., of Green Bay, as part of that wager. The company has agreed to supply all the components, state-of-the-art alignment devices and its current Durolflex foot, for three indigent patients selected by Union Orthotics & Prosthetics in Pittsburgh. Jon Leimkueler, a prosthetist with Union Orthotics & Prosthetics, has agreed to provide custom fitting for the three recipients as well. “We’re looking at this as a wonderful opportunity to benefit truly needy individuals in the name of good sportsmanship.”
The Green Bay Area Chamber is also wagering bratwurst, cheese curds and award-winning Titletown Brewing Company Beer, along with a signature “cheesehead.”
“Pittsburgh’s proud of the diverse economy we’ve built over the past 30 years, along with a football team that’s won six Super Bowls – more than any other,” said Barbara McNees, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce. “As we climb the ‘Stairway to Seven,’ we look forward to tasting the Green Bay bratwurst and beer.”
For its part of the wager, Pittsburgh, itself a major advanced materials manufacturing center and a globally recognized hub for innovation and technology, is throwing in the towel – one of its famous Terrible Towels – and putting Pittsburgh’s tech innovation on the table with the following:
- K.I.C.K. (Kids’ Interactive Creation Kiosk), created by Electric Owl Studios, an interactive technology firm. To be donated to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, the kiosk is an original touch screen and software suite developed to stimulate and support children’s creativity. With a presence in top hospitals across three continents and 27 states, K.I.C.K. provides kids with an outlet for alleviating the anxiety that medical settings may create.
- Toy Story Mania TV Game, one of TIME magazine’s top 10 toys of 2010, and the creation of another Pittsburgh tech innovator, Schell Games. Schell Games and Electric Owl Studios are both spin outs of the globally recognized Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). The ETC was the brainchild of CMU professors Don Marinelli and the late Randy Pausch.
- The mamaRoo, an award-winning, high-tech moving baby seat by Thorley Industries (dba 4moms), a Pittsburgh developer of baby products. The mamaRoo "moves like you do." It has five unique motions designed to mimic the natural motions parents make to comfort their babies, plus adjustable speeds, built-in nature sounds and an mp3 hookup.
- Innovative Math Curriculum for 250 students in Green Bay Area Public Schools from Carnegie Learning, Inc. This Pittsburgh company develops research-based math software, textbooks, and professional development programs for middle school and high school students. Carnegie Learning’s innovators are cognitive and computer scientists working alongside veteran teachers to improve the way we teach and learn mathematics. Implemented in 3,000 schools across the country, Carnegie Learning is helping students to succeed in math as a gateway to graduation and the global 21st-century workforce.
“In Pittsburgh and in Green Bay, our children are our future,” said Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce President Barbara McNees. “We want children to be the ultimate winners in this wager, that’s why we’re offering some of Pittsburgh’s best technology to benefit kids.”
Although rivals on the football field, Pittsburgh and Green Bay are enthusiastic champions of the Great Lakes Region (12 U.S. states and Canada’s two largest provinces), which represents one-third of the U.S. GDP, one-third of the U.S. population and 100% of the football franchises slated to meet on the field on February 6, 2011.
Contacts:
Philip Cynar
Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
412-281-4783 ext. 4573
412-260-6464 (cell)
pcynar@alleghenyconference.org
Catherine DeLoughry
Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
412-281-4783 ext. 3131
412-496-8538 (cell)
cdeloughry@alleghenyconference.org
Lori Kaye Lodes
Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
920-593-3423
llodes@titletown.org