Ben's Chili Bowl matriarch Virginia Ali |
From our friends at LINK Strategic Partners...
Local DC Resident-Owned Business Invests in Historic District Institution
LINK Strategic Partners, a DC-based strategic communications and stakeholder engagement social impact firm, is proud to partner with and support Ben’s Chili Bowl as a Platinum Sponsor of their 60th Anniversary Celebration.
The celebration, “A Tribute to Virginia Ali,” will begin with a press conference, followed by a Ben’s Block Party from 11 AM to 3 PM on Wednesday, August 22 at Ben’s Chili Bowl located at 1213 U St., NW. At 7:30 PM, the festivities will continue at the Lincoln Theatre with the Ben’s Chili Bowl 60th Anniversary Celebration Gala, benefiting the Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation.
As the milestone event’s Platinum Sponsor, LINK, a DC Certified Business Enterprise (CBE), will support the Anniversary with its award-winning strategic communications and public relations services, including a speaking role at the gala for firm president, Michael Akin. The partnership is part of LINK’s longstanding commitment to being an active member and advocate of the District’s business community.
For LINK’s President, Michael Akin, participation is also personal. “The Ali Family are not only stalwart supporters of DC and champions of local business, including LINK since our founding, but they are truly good people who embrace all of us as family,” Akin said. “Our team is extremely proud to be able to return the favor and thank Ben’s Chili Bowl for its support over the years.”
The Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation was founded to provide service to the community and the neighborhoods in which we live by engaging in community projects throughout the year at various locations around the city. The Foundation also raises funds from individuals and corporations so that it is able to give back and fund other community organizations that make a difference every day.
“We look forward to working with LINK Strategic Partners on this momentous occasion in our family’s legacy,” said Nizam Ali, one of the owners of Ben’s Chili Bowl, and son of the founders, Ben and Virginia Ali. “Michael Akin and the LINK Team have always been supporters of Ben's - all Ben's restaurants and our family, as they deeply see the value of community which has always been one of our core values. Whether by formal engagement or often times just as a caring company, LINK has provided expertise, manpower, and support for several Ben's restaurants and Ben's events, which have been extremely helpful to us.”
“Ben’s is one of the most important cultural institutions in Washington, DC, and for six decades, has served as a symbol of resilience and progress. The Ali family has kept its doors open through some of the toughest times in the history of our city and nation, welcoming everyone, whether it was fashionable of not, to tell stories about our past and host conversations about what the future might be,” said Bernard Demczuk, Historian of Ben’s Chili Bowl and Chairman of the Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation. “We look forward to celebrating many more half smokes, many more hugs from Virginia Ali, many more laughs and many more decades of history and culture to come.”
For more information about LINK Strategic Partners, visit www.linkstrategicpartners.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on @LINKStrategic.
About LINK Strategic Partners:
LINK Strategic Partners is a full-service strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and social impact firm located in the Greater Washington Urban League headquarters building in the heart of Washington, DC. By understanding and respecting the communities in which we operate, we create and apply the right tools and strategies to translate challenges into opportunities for local success. We believe doing well and doing good are not mutually exclusive: We partner with national and local clients doing great work across the country to provide high-touch and high-tech approaches in communications, community and stakeholder engagement, media and public relations, branding, digital strategy, and graphic design. For more information, visit www.linkstrategicpartners.com.