The Canadian Athletes Now Fund (CAN Fund) received the prestigious “Coca-Cola Award: Live Olympic” at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
“The Canadian Athletes Now Fund is proud to be one of the 19 international recipients of this award,” said founder Jane Roos. “The Fund exists for Canadian athletes who ‘live Olympic’ every day. They need our support long before the Opening Ceremony begins.”
Kevin Reed (top center), accepts the award on behalf of the Canadian Athletes Now Fund from Scott McCune (top left), vice president, Worldwide Sports, Entertainment and Licensing, The Coca-Cola Company. Also present were Peter Mackay (top right), Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada, and four members of Canada’s Olympic Team (front row, left to right): Ski Jumpers Graeme Gorham, Gregory Baxter and Stefan Read, along with Jason Myslicki, who competes in Nordic Combined.
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The Coca-Cola Company
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FINAL PRESENTATION IN TORINO OF “COCA-COLA AWARD: LIVE OLYMPIC” SPOTLIGHTS “CANADIAN ATHLETES NOW FUND”
TORINO, Italy, February 25, 2006 The Canadian Athletes Now Fund (CAN Fund) today received the final “Coca-Cola Award: Live Olympic” presented during the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. The award presentation was made by Scott McCune, vice president, Worldwide Sports, Entertainment and Licensing, The Coca-Cola Company. Kevin Reed, a corporate investor in CAN Fund, accepted on behalf of the organization. Also attending the award ceremony at the Coca-Cola Press Lounge in Piazza Solferino were Peter Mackay, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada, and Canadian Olympians Jason Myslicki, who competes in Nordic Combined, and Ski Jumpers Graeme Gorham, Stefan Read and Gregory Baxter.
Since Feb. 10, the “Coca-Cola Award: Live Olympic” program has been saluting individuals who reflect the ideals of the Olympic Games in their everyday lives. New recipients have been recognized daily during the Torino 2006 Games.
“The Canadian Athletes Now Fund is proud to be one of the 19 international recipients of this award,” said founder Jane Roos. “The Fund exists for Canadian athletes who `live Olympic’ every day. They need our support long before the Opening Ceremony begins.”
The Canadian Athletes Now Fund (www.canadianathletesnow.com), formerly known as the See You In Torino Fund, is a Toronto-based, not-for-profit organization devoted to raising money and awareness for Canada’s athletes. The Fund was set up to help Canadian athletes get ready for international summer and winter competition. Donations received are put directly into the hands of the athletes, to support their training, coaching and nutrition, and also to offset living expenses.
The CAN Fund mission is to underwrite the expenses of as many Canadian athletes as possible, as support is needed years before medals can be realized. Since 1997, the Fund has raised in excess of $3.5 million and assisted more than 500 athletes, including Paralympians, with their dreams of competing for Canada.
“Like most Olympic sports, the beauty of the Canadian Athletes Now Fund is its simplicity: Olympic athletes need money and your Fund finds it for them,” said Mr. McCune to Mr. Reed during this evening’s award presentation. “The modern truth is that, without funding, there are no world-class athletes, and without such athletes, there are no Olympic Games. The Canadian Athletes Now Fund addresses that issue for hundreds of Canadian athletes and their families and compatriots. This award recognizes CAN Fund’s understanding, passion, action and pride in the great nation of Canada, and we are proud to present the organization, its founder Jane Roos, and you as a representative of the Fund with this award.”
Canadian Athletes Now Fund joins a list of award recipients that has included, among others, inspirational family members and coaches of Olympians, organizers of sports training and education for youth, and individuals who have tirelessly supported national teams and athletes and the Olympic Movement.
Each “Coca-Cola Award: Live Olympic” presented during Torino 2006 has been an original work of airbrushed acrylic commissioned by Coca-Cola from renowned Italian artist Renato Missaglia.
A native of Brescia, Italy, Missaglia has participated in numerous joint exhibitions and held several personal shows both in Italy and abroad, including a showing at the Louvre in Paris. Missaglia’s works also are found among numerous public and private collections, including the modern art collection at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal. He now lives near Brescia in Gussago, Italy.
“Live Olympic,” the recently introduced marketing platform for the long-time Coca-Cola association with the Olympic Movement, draws from the simple proposition: “What if the Olympic Spirit came around every two seconds, instead of every two years?” Much as the Olympic Games bring out the best in athletic achievement, “live Olympic” suggests that each moment in our daily lives presents a new opportunity to bring out the best in the human spirit, to make our world just a little bit better.
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most-valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world’s top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit the Web site www.coca-cola.com.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Highlights from presentations of the “Coca-Cola Award: Live Olympic” during the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games can be found online at www.coca-cola.com
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