Eclipse Sports & Entertainment, LLC is an experiential marketing and multi-media company dedicated to making a positive difference in the world daily through sports and entertainment while helping companies, organizations and individuals achieve maximum performance.
CORE E.C.L.I.P.S.E. VALUES
The letters of ECLIPSE spell out the character and professional traits by which we operate: Expertise and Connections, built on a foundation of Loyalty, Integrity, Passion and Strength, produce Extraordinary results.
COMPANY HISTORY
Eclipse began in 1999 as a full service sports marketing firm with clients in soccer, golf, offshore powerboat racing, fitness and other sports. By 2002, the majority of Eclipse’s business was in the field of creating business development opportunities for companies and charities through celebrity golf outings.
By 2003, Eclipse was the leading golf event production company in the Mid-Atlantic region and one of the more prominent firms of its kind in the U.S. Founder A.J. Ali was named to Baltimore’s “40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders” list.
2004 marked a year of transition for the company. The Eclipse Business Golf Academy was created and the focus of the company switched gears from just producing events to also teaching others how to produce events and setting them up in business as independent Eclipse Golf Consultants. During this time, A.J. Ali developed two workshops for using golf as a business development tool and for producing golf events. Both have quickly become industry standards of excellence and have received praise from business leaders and many PGA and LPGA professionals.
In 2005, Eclipse was named to both the Baltimore Business Journal’s “Fastest Growing Companies in Baltimore” list and “Largest Minority Owned Firms” list. The company opened a west coast office, greatly expanding celebrity, media and entertainment company contacts.
In 2007, Eclipse produced the award-winning Survivor Celebration Tour helping cancer survivors from New York to L.A. with a stop at Innisbrook Resort to join members in helping local survivors -- and Marathon of Miracles (MOM), the nonprofit started by Ali and his wife Jane, was named the beneficiary of the PGA Fall Expo in Las Vegas.
In 2008, Eclipse began an aggressive push to expand its programs helping golf events as well as golf courses, vendors and others that stand to benefit from better marketing and business development efforts in the golf event business. The “On the Tee with A.J. Ali” event package was developed.
In 2009, in anticipation of a dire need for training and education in the area of business golf in a changing economy, Eclipse spent much of 2009 refining its’ Eclipse Business Golf Academy program to position itself for rapid growth in 2010. Eclipse also strengthened its' base of connections in the business development area for the purpose of serving the needs of clients in business development areas outside of golf. Also in 2009, Eclipse formed a division called EclipseVSC (stands for Vision, Strategy and Connections) to make use of the business development strength of more than 5,000 decision-making personal contacts A.J. has cultivated in 28 years of business. Humorously nicknamed by a famous actor, "The People Collector," A.J. knows leaders in virtually every industry and has a knack for marrying businesses together and helping them mutually benefit from the relationship. He's the ultimate middle-man.
Eclipse Sports & Entertainment offers consulting and training services to golf courses, companies, nonprofits, churches, celebrities and others wishing to take their business to the next level. Whether it is developing a business development or branding strategy, launching a new product or service, creating a national golf event series or something else that needs know-how, creativity and connections, Eclipse is the team you want on your side in 2010 and beyond.
A.J. Ali is an award-winning producer, writer, actor,
host and wellness expert.
TV & Film
He is the Creator, Executive Producer and Co-Star of “Good
Fellas of Baltimore,” airing on Fox 45 on Saturday afternoons beginning in the
fall of 2010. In addition to Good Fellas of Baltimore, he has several other
television shows in development including "Green Gourmet Living"
about eco-friendly luxury, "Survivor Celebration" to empower cancer
survivors, and a celebrity golf TV show. He is producing two documentary
films, "200 Miracles," to encourage and empower newly-diagnosed cancer
patients; and "Why Weight? The Transformation of West White," a
film about a 600-pound 32-year-old man who is committing to live a wellness
lifestyle, which will include shedding more than 350 pounds. He also has
a cameo role in the film "Chasing Time," scheduled for completion in
2011. Other TV successes include producing the special “Positive Choice”
for national youth soccer program “Soccer in the Streets” with marketing
partners U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer, and consulting on numerous
projects.
Writing & Music
His "On the Tee with A.J. Ali” inspirational lifestyle
column is popular in various publications and online. He co-authored an
inspirational wellness book with Vera Jones titled ”The True Champion’s 30-Day
Challenge,” published in the fall of 2009. He has written two business
golf books, currently being used in workshops and training programs
nationwide. His recent work includes writing and producing the cancer
survivor anthem "Through the Darkness, Into the Light" and producing
the compilation music CD "Survivor Celebration" to benefit breast
cancer survivors. His 2007 Survivor Celebration campaign helping cancer
survivors all over the U.S. won the prestigious Hollywood Fame Awards “National
Community Service Award.”
Business
As a visionary entrepreneur he has created dozens of
brands, founded two pro soccer teams and has raised $20 million for
charity. Through his Eclipse Business Golf Academy program he has trained
dozens of people in the U.S, the U.K. and Africa to become golf consultants,
teaching them how to use the power of celebrity golf to help charities and
companies meet their goals.
Community
Active in the community, A.J. and his wife Jane are
co-founders of the “Marathon of Miracles” (MOM) nonprofit helping families that
are fighting cancer and helping to end the disease through wellness and cancer
prevention education. Marathon of Miracles launched an all-natural snack
line in January in an innovative joint venture with SCNS Sports Foods in
California. The snacks are already being sold in more than 500 stores in
the U.S., Canada and the Dominican Republic and on costco.com and other
sites. WNBA star Tina Charles, Emmy Award Winning actor Glynn Turman and
a growing list of other celebrities endorse the snack line. Funds raised
from the snacks help MOM spread the wellness message and will help to create
10,000 organic wellness gardens throughout the U.S. to serve as living
classrooms for wellness and cancer prevention.
A.J. proudly served his country as a Public Affairs
Specialist in the U.S. Air Force from 1983 to 1987, spending part of his time
in the service playing soccer for the U.S. Air Force Soccer Team, helping to
build relationships with people from other countries and helping to boost
morale through inter-service competitions in Europe and in the U.S.
Frequently invited to participate
in celebrity golf outings as an author/writer, producer and host, he playfully
refers to himself as a “J” lister, both to acknowledge his faith in Jesus and
his lowly status on the celebrity ranking ladder. He jokes, “Who needs to
be on the A-List when being on the J-list means you’re going to Heaven, you get
to play golf for free and you don’t have to worry about paparazzi getting all
your bad shots on film!”
A.J. is a 1989 graduate of the prestigious Sacramento Entrepreneurship
Academy. He has been married to his beautiful and loving wife Jane Ali
since 1994. For some strange reason, she stays with him even though she
can hardly ever check in for a flight online because of her last name and those
"random" security checks.
JANE ALI, V.P. OPERATIONS
Jane is
a multi-talented management wiz with more than 20 years experience in
management and operations. She has managed operations for Eclipse since
its inception in 1999. Her role with Eclipse
includes bookkeeping, HR and
general management of business operations.
As the
Business Manager for Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, MD from
1999 to 2005, she was instrumental in managing rapid growth. During her
six years as business manager, the church membership grew by 800 to
nearly 1,400 people. During that time, staff numbers more than tripled.
She oversaw collection of tithes & offering, prepared budgets,
managed financial records & reports, performed HR functions and
made key recommendations on various management issues. Prior
to joining Bridgeway, she managed more than 20 sales representatives
and a budget of over $2 million for the Columbia Association, one of
the nation’s largest homeowner’s associations.
Jane,
a breast cancer survivor, is the Co-Founder of Marathon of Miracles, the official charity of Eclipse
Sports & Entertainment. MOM creates Swing for Survivors
golf events, Survivor Celebration luncheons and other programs to raise
money and awareness for cancer support programs and for cancer
survivors directly.
When she’s not pampering her cat or riding a horse, she loves to
read, roller-blade, swim, golf and play tennis.
