May 2 Is Now Mark Soifer Day in Ocean City

At a surprise birthday celebration for Ocean City's public relations director on Wednesday, Mayor Jay Gillian proclaimed that May 2 will now be known as Mark Soifer Day in Ocean City.

Soifer turned 80 on Wednesday, and he continues to work tirelessly and full-time promoting the resort. One of his creations, , takes place 11 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday, May 3), but Ocean City's calendar is filled with Soifer's work — from the local version of the Doo Dah Parade in April to the local First Night on Dec 31.

Soifer started work with Ocean City in 1971 and has always "demonstrated the true meaning of Ocean City with his generosity and kindness," according to Gillian.

The mayor said the city will build the Mark Soifer Downtown Welcome Center on the now-vacant City Hall Annex property at Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue where Soifer used to have an office.

Arm in arm with Councilman Keith Hartzell (whose vision for the property clashed with the mayor's), Gillian presented Soifer with a key to the "virtual building," something only a person with Soifer's sense of humor could appreciate.

"I feel very fortunate to be part of Ocean City," Soifer said. "I like to work for an institution I can believe in. ... Ocean City is unique. There's not another resort in the country that can live up to what Ocean City does."

The mayor and his wife, Michele Gillian, treated Soifer's friends and colleagues to a lunch at City Hall for the celebration.