Dr. Frank Gill, President Of The National Audubon Society, & Artist Olivia Bouler To Ring The Closing Bell® This Friday

On Friday, June 25, representatives from the National Audubon Society will visit the New York Stock Exchange to highlight the organization's efforts to help birds, wildlife and habitat affected by the Gulf oil spill.

To mark the occasion, Dr. Frank Gill, President of the National Audubon Society, and 11-year-old artist and bird-lover Olivia Bouler will ring The Closing Bell at 4PM.

Since she began her campaign, Olivia Bouler has drawn and sent out 150 illustrations of birds, including the iconic Brown Pelican imperiled by the ongoing oil spill, and attracted more than 25,000 fans on her Facebook page. AOL recently announced "Olivia's Help the Gulf Wildlife Project," a partnership with the young artist to help display her work and enhance aid going to one organization in particular that's responding to the spill.

With a long history of safeguarding the birds and habitats of the region, the National Audubon Society has recruited and mobilized hundreds of volunteers to respond to the spill. Through their newly opened Volunteer Resource Center in Mississippi, Audubon volunteers are already supporting the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and other agencies with the emergency response. They are also being trained and deployed for monitoring and assessment vital to long-term plans for restoring the region's birds, wetlands and ecological health.  Updates on Audubon initiatives can be found at www.audubon.org and the Audubon magazine blog www.audubonmagazine.org

Inspired by John James Audubon's art and her own love of birds, Olivia has set her aspirations on one day becoming an ornithologist like Audubon's Dr. Gill, who reported from the Gulf in this recent video bit.ly/b0pjiZ

WHEN/WHERE:
Friday, June 25, 2010 – NYSE – Security Checkpoint at Exchange & Broad Streets
3:30 p.m. Media arrives at checkpoint
4:00 p.m. The Closing Bell is rung

CONTACT:
Media interested in covering the bell ringing MUST contact Annmarie Gioia at 212.656.5437 or email agioia@nyx.com in order to obtain entry to the ceremony outside.

PHOTO/VIDEO:
Photos available via Associated Press/New York (212.621.1902), Reuters America (646.223.6285) and Bloomberg Photo (212.617.3420). The Closing Bell® (starting at 3:55 p.m.) feeds are available via Ascent loop #4009. Those seeking footage via The Switch please contact NYSE Broadcast at 212.656.5483.

Photos of the oil spill and other resources are available in the Audubon Press Room 

IMPORTANT NOTE TO MEDIA ENTERING THE NYSE:
The use of wireless equipment/gear/microphones is not permitted inside the NYSE due to interference with NYSE broadcasting frequencies. When necessary, wired mics should be utilized.

WEBCAST:
A live webcast of The Closing Bell (beginning at 3:59 p.m.) will be available on the homepage of www.nyse.com.