City of Rochester and MVP
News Release
Fans join City of Rochester and MVP Health Care to welcome home gold-medal winner Abby Wambach and U.S. Soccer teammates
Rochester, NY, August 31, 2012 ─ The City of Rochester and MVP Health Care today officially welcomed home Olympic champion and Rochester native Abby Wambach by renaming the main walkway into Sahlen’s Stadium “Wambach Way.”
“I am thrilled to be associated with this stadium, which I hope will encourage a love of soccer,” said Abby Wambach. “And I hope kids, especially, will be moved to play as well as to watch.”
“The U.S. team’s gold-medal win at the Olympics was absolutely fantastic. Abby is a great role model for our Generation Go® program, which is all about engaging kids and families in healthy lifestyles,” said Denise Gonick, MVP’s President of Operations. “We are pleased to sponsor ‘Wambach Way’ recognizing Abby’s ongoing connection to her hometown.”
Abby joined Rochester Mayor Thomas S. Richards, MVP executives and scores of fans to cut the ceremonial ribbon marking the dedication of “Wambach Way,” before heading off to practice with her teammates for Saturday’s game against Costa Rica.
Saturday’s game is sold out, but today’s event offered the opportunity for enthusiastic fans to welcome Abby home after the U.S. team’s gold-medal win in London. Along with the ribbon cutting and the practice, which was free and open to the public, Radio Disney and Rochester’s Recreation on the Move program attended the event, creating a fun, active, family-focused experience.
As Abby Wambach’s original sponsor, MVP has partnered with her since 2004. Through MVP’s Generation Go® program, Wambach has met with thousands of children throughout MVP’s service area in New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Wambach leads soccer clinics and talks with kids about the importance of being active, eating well and making healthy decisions.
“Abby Wambach is a world-class athlete and role model for young athletes everywhere,” said Mayor Thomas S. Richards. “She is the embodiment of intelligence, character and talent and has rightly earned superstar status in the arena of international soccer and beyond. It is an honor to recognize Rochester’s own by proclaiming this walkway as ‘Abby Wambach Way.’”
###
Contacts: Mike Traphagan MVP Health Care: 585-327-2333; Michael Keane, Deputy Director City of Rochester Bureau of Communications 585-428-6064
About MVP Health Care: Founded in 1983, MVP Health Care is a community-focused, not-for-profit health insurer serving members in the states of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. Through its operating subsidiaries, MVP Health Care provides fully-insured and self-funded employer health benefits plans, dental insurance, and ancillary products, such as flexible-spending accounts, to more than 650,000 members. For more information, visit www.mvphealthcare.com.