Extra! Extra!
Read all about a match
made in PR heaven!

Long before Maureen and Ed Lewi ever went out on a date, others were betting theirs would be a match made in heaven. What none of the matchmakers could have predicated three decades ago was that efforts to bring the young widow and widower together would ultimately have a heavenly impact on the greater Saratoga/Capital Region!

Then again, who would have dreamed that buying His & Her towels for the newlyweds -- then worlds apart in terms of their chosen career tracks -- would lead to His & Her offices inside the posh headquarters of a corporation that thrives primarily on promoting special events and tourism in upstate New York on a year-round basis?

As partners in Ed Lewi Associates in Clifton Park, the charismatic couple¹s client list reads like a Who's Who of mega movers and shakers in arts and entertainment, sports and fitness, industry and commerce, government and tourism, and -- perhaps not surprisingly -- high society.

A quick read of the roster includes the New York Racing Association (NYRA), The Great Escape, Duncan Donuts, NCAA Fan Festivals and Albany Medical Center, the US Figure Skating Association, and the Olympic games in Lake Placid, Sarajevo and Calgary.

Many of those Maureen and Ed have met through business situations, including socialite and philanthropist Marylou Whitney -- whose daughter, Heather, came to work for the Lewis at the XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid -- have become close personal friends over the years.

Even the Times-Union, where Ed was happily employed as Promotions Director for a decade before deciding to put his full energies into his own PR business, continues to retain him as a consultant for Special Events, such as the Great Northeast Home Show at The Pepsi Arena. The odds of this happening to anyone else might fall some place between slim and nil, but then the odds of finding another entrepreneur with both Ed¹s winning personality and years of experience are equally scarce.

Ed credits his Times-Union affiliation during the 1960s and early 1970s with helping him lay a solid foundation for his future enterprise. "In those days, I worked full-time for the paper and operated a PR firm part-time on the side. It was Maureen with her strong background in accounting who helped me step back and look at things from a strictly business standpoint. One day, she pointed out that the list of clients connected to my part-time job had grown to the point where taking care of their needs could easily be a full-time job. She suggested I should consider doing PR full-time and take the T-U on as a client."

Prior to meeting, marrying and merging professional talents with Ed, Maureen had managed properties for the law office of now retired 42nd District Senator Howard Nolan. It was in that rather unlikely setting that the seeds of the couple¹s romance were planted.

In the course of a 1974 Senate race, Nolan had expressed a desire to have Ed handle public relations for his campaign, but was told the young marketing whiz "didn¹t do politics." Nonetheless, Maureen recalls, her boss couldn't stop talking about Ed and kept dropping hints that the two of them should consider getting together socially.

Others affiliated with the campaign tried equally hard to pique Ed's interest in Maureen. When they were subsequently introduced at a SPAC function, Maureen viewed it purely as "as an opportunity to get Ed to work on the campaign for Senator Nolan. He, of course, kept insisting that he didn't do politics, but I kept badgering him until we got some free consulting advice."

To the matchmakers' great frustration, nothing newsworthy developed in the courtship department. In fact, it wasn't until some time later, on a holiday weekend, that Ed finally placed a call to Maureen¹s home number, expecting to leave a quick message on an answering machine. When she picked up, the conversation flowed . . . and has been going strong ever since!

Should they ever pool resources to write a book of their experiences together, chapters might include a surprising scope of adventures (and misadventures) such as the unforgettable night when pianist Andre Watts was performing with the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra at SPAC.

"Marylou had donated a magnificent baby grand piano -- a Steinway -- to SPAC and we were in the wings with the Whitneys and all of the dignitaries watching the concert when one of the pedals suddenly fell off the baby grand," muses Ed. "At this point, to everyone¹s amazement, Andre Watts stops paying and gets down on the floor to look for the missing pedal while the conductor, Eugene Ormandy, looks down wondering what in the world is going on."

The gala concert took a more dramatic -- or comical -- turn depending upon the viewpoint! -- when the brand new Steinway was rolled off the stage and an old Baldwin that was behind the curtains was rolled onto the stage in its place. "Ed had convinced The New York Times and other major newspapers to cover the event and Marylou was there wondering what on earth to do," recalls Maureen.

"But Ed wasn't the least bit worried. He knew what had happened was bound to make front page news in all of the major papers (which it did) and was determined to put as positive a spin on the story as possible. His policy, the key to his PR success, has always been to keep it honest and straightforward. In the end, what transpired was billed as a real show stopper!"

In another favorite story, Ed -- who at the time "wasn¹t into music and had never seen a ballet" brought representatives of the European press to one of George Balanchine¹s rehearsals. As a joke, Mr. B. told the reporters that Ed had been taking class, and invited the PR pro to show them what he had learned. Ever the ham, Ed -- then heavier and not especially flexible -- gave an impressive demonstration that resulted in a slipped disk! "My ballet career ended in just 10 seconds and cost me three weeks in the hospital!" he laughs.

Ed also enjoyed kidding with Merv Griffin as captured in treasured photograph taken of the men when the talk show host was in town. "For a time, Merv owned the WPYX radio station and he and Eva Gabor came to stay with Marylou during one of her Whitney ball weekends," recalls Maureen. "We had worked with Merv extensively through WPYX, and through the TRA in California, etc., so he and Ed had a jesting relationship." Other fun times for the Lewis included watching their two sons, Jim and Joe, playing and eating take-out fast food with the children of several of the artists, including The Jackson Five, during SPAC rehearsals.

But it is Marylou Whitney who elicits some of their fondest memories as well as their deepest admiration and respect.

"Before Marylou married Sonny (C.V. ) Whitney, the high society families really kept to themselves and socialized only with other prominent families when they spent their summers in Saratoga. Marylou was the one who broke that tradition and brought the community together in so many ways by including people from many different walks of life to her galas," notes Maureen. "Until Marylou¹s arrival on the scene, who would have thought such a diverse cross-section of the community would have a chance to mingle with the Whitneys or big name movie and TV stars at a Saratoga social function during the racing season?"

In addition, emphasize the Lewis, Marylou has given a shot-in-the-arm to countless fund-raisers, such as those held at The Great Escape to benefit the Double "H" Hole in the Woods Ranch for critically ill children, by lending not just her financial support, but also her presence, to their causes in order to raise both public awareness and additional funds.

Last, but far from least, Ed and Maureen marvel at the socialite's willingness to try new things -- from donning fake tatoos and riding on a Harley in a parade to granting in-depth and impromptu interviews with the news media.

"Marylou has a background in show business and is simply an all-around good sport," notes Ed. "She was the first one and the only one from those old Saratoga families that knew what a sound byte was and that I could get to do anything fun -- like being featured on Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous. Marylou agreed to do because she knew it would help put Saratoga back on the map as a first rate resort destination." Her efforts paid off . . . with a little help, of course, from her friends at Ed Lewi Associates!