The single greatest achievement of Penn State is having great alumni, and Eric Shipon is one of those great alumni! A Northeast Philadelphia native and coming from a family of Penn Staters (every decade since the 60s!), Eric, started his college career at Penn State in State College, yet returned to Abington College to play on the men’s tennis team during his college career. He appreciated the personal attention he received at Abington; then known as “Ogontz Campus”. He recalls the professors, teachers, and mentors that encouraged him along the way, noting fond memories of Dr. Al Miles, Dr. Vicki Abt, and Dolly Beechman.
Nowadays, Eric is the Vice President of Sponsorship with Red Light Management’s New Era Media and Marketing division. Some impressive examples of his work include creating the naming rights for the Tweeter Center, the Miller Lite Concert series, and, more recently the national “Skinny Water” tour sponsorship for Brad Paisley. When Eric isn’t running back and forth from Philadelphia to NYC, often rubbing shoulders with celebrities, he is passionately promoting his non-for profit “ Have a Catch for Barb,” in fond memory of his wife, Barb, who passed away with breast cancer last year. Eric, along with his two daughters, continues to spread the beautiful memories of his wife through radio and tv interviews, blog posts and fundraisers on his website, www.haveacatchforbarb.org. He founded the campaign, “Have a Catch for Barb”, to honor his wife, help families going though cancer of a loved one, and to raise awareness the disease. The tagline invites individuals to have a catch and symbolically “toss cancer aside” and enjoy simple moments (like a catch) with loved ones. This movement encourages families to get closer together and remember courageous patients who fought this health battle. For Eric, this is also another meaningful step to mentor other families who are going through this experience because he was once in their position. He understands the amount of mental, physical, and financial stress that comes with the journey. “Have a Catch for Barb” is a phenomenal foundation dedicated to spread positivity in the community while enlightening other families.
We are Penn State Proud to have Eric as an alum. Not only is he a successful businessman, but also a loving, caring father who has committed his time to help others and their families battle cancer, all in loving memory if his wife.
For more information, please visit the following websites:
http://catchforbarb.org
https://www.facebook.com/HaveACatchForBarb
Written By: Jill Mensch
We are Penn State Proud to have Eric as an alum. Not only is he a successful businessman, but also a loving, caring father who has committed his time to help others and their families battle cancer, all in loving memory if his wife.
For more information, please visit the following websites:
http://catchforbarb.org
https://www.facebook.com/HaveACatchForBarb
Written By: Jill Mensch