U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Athletes Ring Nasdaq Bell

Press Release

• November 07 2008
• 2 comments

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE - NEW YORK (Nov. 7) - U.S. Snowboarding’s Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) along with U.S. Ski Team’s Paralympic alpine racer Ralph Green (Brooklyn, NY) and freestyle skiing World Cup winner Shelly Robertson (Reno, NV) helped NASDAQ ring the closing bell signifying the end of the trading day Thursday.

Prior to pressing the button that rings the bell, Wescott addressed the NASDAQ crowd on behalf of U.S. Snowboarding and the U.S. Ski Team giving an overview of the Olympic dream and how corporate America, including several companies that are traded at NASDAQ help support the Team.

“An Olympic dream is something that doesn’t take place with just one individual,” said Wescott. “We are an organization that takes the dreams of young children and develops those dreams ultimately giving them the opportunity to be on the Olympic stage. My Olympic dream was 20-years in the making as a competitive athlete and to reach that highest tier and win that Olympic gold, it is an amazing fulfillment.

“What most people don’t know is that we would not be able to do that without the support of companies such as Charles Schwab, Yahoo!, X Box and Sorel. They are all companies that are a part of the NASDAQ and they fund us,” he added. “It is so key for us to have the help of the companies that are a part of the NASDAQ world.”

The athletes were joined on stage by Maribel Aber, vice president NASDAQ Market Site, and Jordon Saxe, managing director NASDAQ OMX.

“Live music came on to get everyone hyped up and it was amazing. The music was loud and we were clapping out of control,” said Green who lost his leg following a random street shooting as a teen. “The NASDAQ staff welcomed us with open arms. It was really cool just to be in New York and from New York City,” added Green who now is based out of Vail, CO. “It was great.”

Robertson, who was enjoying her first “New York experience” and had been visiting Central Park prior to the NASDAQ ceremony, noted “it was an amazing experience to be here in New York. It was so incredible to ring the bell. I will remember it for a lifetime.”

Like Cinderella, the athletes quickly left NASDAQ to get ready for the ball Thursday evening at the Hammerstein Ballroom. It is the annual U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation fundraiser in New York City that raises money to help support the future generations of the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding.

Watch the closing bell ceremony and view photographs HERE.