Montauk Pioneer - August 29, 2008

Michael Howell, the National Director of Marketing for the most prestigious equestrian event in the U.S., the Hampton Classic, is marking his seventh year with the nationally renowned premier horse show. With 1,400 horses and over 40,000 spectators, the country's largest Show Jumping competition, is held on an approximately 70 acre Bridgehampton site decorated with exquisitely planted jumps, all year round gardens, 60 fabulous boutiques and a 3,000 seat VIP tent where notables and celebrities enjoy champagne and caviar, gourmet foods and service provided by white-jacketed waiters.

Underneath all the "pomp and circumstance" it's still the local horse show that began thirty-two years ago at Dune Alpine Farms, Michael Howell reflected, and indeed there is something here for everyone. Yet the Hampton Classic has grown and changed, as has its Director of Marketing.

Michael is very pleased that one of the major highlights this year will be newly crowned Olympic Team Gold Medalist, McClain Ward from Brewster, NY, who will make The Classic his first stop when he returns from China. Also Eric Lamaze, Gold Medal winner and member of Canada's Silver Team, as well as team alternates Anne Kursinski of the US and Jonathan Asslin of Canada, will also be among the world class riders.

Another main feature attraction, the Grand Prix, will have $50,000 added to last year's $150,000, and which for the very first time there will be no entry fee and open to all that complete the Qualifier. With $600,000 in prizes, the competition will be fierce and intense.

The year round team, the backbone of The Classic, is the group that Michael feels so grateful for. "We all work so well together," he told me.

Executive Director Shanette Cohen enjoys Michael so much, saying, "He is high energy, that's for sure! Sometimes we have to tell him to go for a walk!"

Michael is a joyous friend to have because of his special way of promoting a fun, easy, and at times spirited climate. His infectious laugh delights all.

The Team also includes Emily Aspinall, Finance Director, Troy Powell, Secretary Horse Show, Reyna Stein, VIP Tables Administrator, Marty Bauman and Megan Schermhorn, Press Supervisors, David Dimijian, Kate and Liz Soroka, Grounds Administration. The two interns are Sebastian Oppenheim and John Suskind. Good friend Marty Bauman remarked how caring Michael is and how he is loved by everyone.

Looking back to when he wore suits and ties, not the shorts and open shirts he now wears, and having learned to run the copier which he surely couldn't operate when he first left the corporate world, Michael still leads a very busy life with more than just one job

Before joining The Classic, during the years 1993-2001, he was with Ruder and Finn Public Relations and worked with major corporate clients including Seagram Crown royal, AT&T, Chase Manhattan and Lexmark. From 1987-1993 as a senior member of Ruder Finn's A&CC Group, he represented several distinguished corporate philanthropic clients and cultural institutions. Heading a public relations department for the Brooklyn Academy of Music for two years, and before that five years as a member of Senior management for the Canadian Opera Company, Michael Howell's background is as impressive as it is diversified.

Quite an amazing life for the Texas born unassuming wonder who graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BA in Journalism and a Master's degree in French from the University of Waterloo and a Diplome Langues et Lettres from Institut Des Etudes Francais, Aix-en-Provence, France.

In 2001 Michael decided to leave the corporate world and return to France.

If into each life a little rain must fall, Michael endured times of devastating heavy showers when dear, close friends and family members were ill and did not recover. Just the day before the movers were scheduled to meet him on September 12 200l, Michael's plans were altered. Arriving in Paris a month later, a fortuitous dinner invitation from Tony Hitchcock and Jean Lingren, the Executive Directors of the Hampton Classic and good friends of Michael's, triggered his return to the US and soon on to the Hampton Classic.

Recently Michael Howell has started wearing more hats. Dr. Wally Smith, the General Manager and Director of WLIU Radio told me exuberantly,"I love him to death. Michael has so many skills in a variety of disciplines and it is the combination of his personal appreciation and his abilities that is so unique."

The two are fast friends but Michael credits the fact that Wally is such a special advisor and counselor that he is able to wear numerous hats at WLIU.

Indeed, Michael is a major player in the East End community; his networking capabilities reach invaluable connections. As a major ambassador to the Arts, his regular commentaries for WLIU's "Theatre Beat" cover the theatrical scene on the East End and Manhattan. Also artistic advisor and producer of special programs which have aired on "In the Morning with Bonnie Grice" and theater reviewer for the East Hampton Star appraising East End Theatre, Broadway and off Broadway for shows that include local actors and creative teams, Michael feels humbled and inspired, especially when, as he says, "It is astounding to me that people actually read my reviews."

Perhaps his wonder and awe takes him back to a time when he was standing at the Overlook in Montauk, (a favorite spot) when he said to himself, "How did I get here?"

All that know Michael would agree that his successes are due to his tenaciousness, his abilities, his steadfastness, his sense of humor and his genuine concern for everyone as well as everything in which he is involved.

Proud to be a part of the East End and reaping the benefits of living in the small village of Sag Harbor, he does have time to travel to France, return to Texas now and again, and visit his niece, her husband and his two (9 and 6 year olds) great nephews in Colorado.