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One more summer of parading, plunging, and plopping for Ocean City's Soifer

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - To say that Mark Soifer would go to the ends of the earth for Ocean City may be an understatement.

Mark Soifer, Ocean City’s public relations director, is set to retire after 45 years at the helm. Soifer, who will turn 84 in May, started such traditions as Woof ’n’ Paws Pet Fashion Show and the Doo Dah Parade.
Mark Soifer, Ocean City’s public relations director, is set to retire after 45 years at the helm. Soifer, who will turn 84 in May, started such traditions as Woof ’n’ Paws Pet Fashion Show and the Doo Dah Parade.Read moreDave Griffin / For the Inquirer

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - To say that Mark Soifer would go to the ends of the earth for Ocean City may be an understatement.

Because in the 45 years that Soifer - who will retire at the end of the summer from his position as the resort's public relations director - has commuted from his home in Vineland to his office here, he could have circumnavigated the globe three times.

Soifer, aside from creating and executing dozens of local events and activities over the years, has also written about 5,000 columns for the local newspaper, the Ocean City Sentinel, and thousands of news releases about everything from the annual Doo Dah Parade to the Mister Maturity Pageant.

But his dedication to the job won't likely be measured in miles or column inches as much as it will in the way Soifer went the distance to change how Jersey Shore towns promote themselves.

While summertime activities such as annual sand-castle building contests and fireworks displays have been de rigueur for decades, season-extending events such as Ocean City's annual Woof 'n' Paws Pet Fashion Show or the Indian Summer Block Party were almost unheard of along the Shore before Soifer's tutelage.

When Soifer, who will turn 84 in May, took over the newly created full-time position in 1971 after running a Vineland public relations firm, only Atlantic City and Wildwood had full-time promoters. Now, most Shore towns have public information officers or promoters on their full-time staffs to help attract tourists. And tourism is now a $42 billion-a-year industry in New Jersey, with most of those visitor expenditures at the Shore.

Soifer's public-relations specialist position at $108,000 a year is being phased out and replaced by a $77,000 public-information officer position that will be filled by Doug Bergen, 52, a former editor at the Press of Atlantic City and most recently founding editor of the online news sites Ocean City Patch and OCNJDaily. Bergen actually started the job in December to sort of "learn the promotion ropes" from Soifer.

Besides creating and promoting events, Bergen will also be responsible for fielding inquiries and providing news information directly to the media.

"When I came on board a lot of places were just kind of coasting along with people just coming to the Shore to go to the beaches and boardwalks in the summer . . . there really wasn't much promotion at all," Soifer said. "But at the time, Ocean City felt that it needed to do something different to get people to keep coming here. So I knew I had to come up with different things. I think, ultimately, as other towns caught onto the idea, it made for a stronger Shore community overall."

Over time, the events and happenings melded one after the other and filled up an almost year-around calendar to attract visitors to the town starting with the annual First Night Celebration on New Year's Eve and annual holiday events held in the city's downtown.

"The only down time we really have to think about adding new events to the calendar is maybe a few weeks in January and in February," Soifer said. "By Easter, we are in full swing every year."

Over the years, colleagues have likened Soifer - who, before hip replacement surgery a few years ago, would run three miles a day before work - to the Energizer Bunny.

"He really has shaped the image of Ocean City over the last four decades," said Kathy Caraballo, who has worked side by side with Soifer in the city's Special Events Department for 26 years. "The man never sleeps - he just keeps on going and he's been doing it for so long. We all admire him so much and we will certainly miss him and his dedication to the city."

Even those in competing Shore towns - where many took Soifer's lead and eventually began creating unique events of their own - give Ocean City's public relations guru kudos.

"Mark is the first and the best," said Scott Wahl, Avalon business administrator and public information officer, who has also had a long career in Shore promotion.

"What he has done for Ocean City is nothing short of amazing. Mark's creativity has set the standard for Shore resorts," Wahl said.

Wahl said he most enjoyed a character Soifer created called Trash Buster, the Canned Crusader. Soifer himself dresses in the costume, which consists of a trash-can body and a metal trash-can lid as a hat on his head. The idea is to get kids to think about not littering and picking up trash to create a better environment.

"He has been able to attract attention for his community while at the same time promoting both fun and important messages," Wahl said. "[I] absolutely love what he's done not only for Ocean City but for the entire Shore."

Soifer, a published poet, said his favorite character and event is Martin Z. Mollusk, a hermit crab character billed as "Ocean City's most famous crustacean." He has waxed poetic about Martin over the years, and promoted the character each May 3, as a harbinger of spring when the crab sees its shadow on the beach - à la Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil.

Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said in a statement that Soifer's legacy will always be "an important part of life in Ocean City."

"Mark brought events such as First Night and the Doo Dah Parade to Ocean City, sustained traditions like the Baby Parade and Night in Venice, and created an array of unique family-oriented activities for the city," Gillian said.

Gillian said he is glad Soifer will "lead us through one more year of parading, plunging, plopping, snoring, sculpting taffy, cheering for crustaceans and other antics."

Soifer said when he retires he plans to spend more time with his family, including his wife Toby, whom he met at a Halloween party in Philadelphia and to whom he has been married for 59 years. The couple has four children and eight grandchildren. He also said he plans to continue to work out daily at the gym and to write more poetry.

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jurgo@phillynews.com

@JacquelineUrgo