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Nissan Helping to Turn Ashes Into Olympic Gold for Local Athlete; Olympic Hopes Spurred by Donation to Replace Sled Lost in Tragic Fire

13 February 1998

Nissan Helping to Turn Ashes Into Olympic Gold for Local Athlete; Olympic Hopes Spurred by Donation to Replace Sled Lost in Tragic Fire

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 - Members of the U.S. bobsled team that
lost their sled in a fire the week before the U.S. Olympic trials in Park
City, Utah, came to Washington today to receive a $30,000 check from Nissan
North America for a replacement sled.  The four-man team's sled was destroyed
on December 23 and by New Year's Eve Nissan had pledged its support.
    Michael Kohn of Oakton, Virginia, and team captain Bruce Rosselli of Terre
Haute, Indiana, accepted the check from Nissan on the team's behalf.  Although
the fire dashed Kohn's and Rosselli's Nagano Olympic dream, the team and
Nissan officials are hopeful that the donation will be the first step to turn
ashes into gold for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
    "I have experienced the full spectrum of emotions through this ordeal,"
said Kohn.  "From the overwhelming grief associated with having all my
sacrifices literally go up in smoke, to the joy and gratitude for the
incredible gesture by the people at Nissan North America.  Nissan's support
helped us overcome the loss and we look forward to a long-term partnership
with them."
    Tim MacCarthy, Vice President, Government Affairs, Nissan North America,
Inc., swung into action on behalf of Nissan after he read about the incident
in late December.
    "We hope our partnership will enable them to take a giant step toward
winning the gold in 2002," said MacCarthy.  The 73,000 Americans for whom
Nissan provides jobs will be rooting for this team to make it to Salt Lake
City.  I always have had tremendous respect for Olympic athletes; it's a great
feeling to get involved with these resilient individuals."
    The blaze that destroyed the bobsled ravaged an auto body shop in West
Valley, Utah, a few miles from the site of the Olympic trials in Park City.
The tragedy received national media attention and brought an outpouring of
support and sympathy.
    "Training for Salt Lake begins today," said team captain Bruce Rosselli.
"We should have our new sled in a month and we're confident we'll be
representing the United States in 2002."
    As part of their visit to the nation's capital, Virginia native Kohn and
team captain Rosselli were greeted by Congressman Tom Davis (D-VA) and praised
for their perseverance in the face of adversity.
    Nissan North America employs 12,000 Americans directly and another 61,000
Americans work at Nissan and Infiniti dealerships.  Nissan has invested more
than $2 billion in the United States to build facilities for design, research
and development, manufacturing, sales and related operations.  Nearly seventy
percent of the Nissan cars and trucks sold in America are built in America.
Additionally, Nissan purchases more than $4.2 billion in parts and materials
from U.S. suppliers.

SOURCE  Nissan North America