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NBC’S CAROLYN MANNO TO EMCEE THE CLOSING GALA AT ADAPTIVE SPIRIT’S 23RD ANNUAL EVENT

Subtitle: Host of NBC’s 2018 Paralympic coverage heads to Vail to honor the exceptional athletes of Team USA

03-22-2018 - (Denver, CO)

Adaptive Spirit, the single largest fundraiser supporting the Alpine, Nordic, Snowboard and Biathletes of Paralympic Team USA is proud to announce that NBC’s Carolyn Manno has been named as emcee of the
Annual Event’s Closing Gala.

The Adaptive Spirit 23rd Annual Event takes place in Vail, Colorado, April 5th – 8th. The Closing Gala will be held in the Alpine Hall at the Hotel Talisa on Saturday, April 7th at 7:00 pm.

“I am thrilled to be the emcee at this year’s Adaptive Spirit Annual Closing Gala,” said Manno. “It was an honor to host my fourth Paralympics for NBC. The incredible talent of the Paralympic athletes and the compelling stories of triumph they so generously share is a powerful combination. It is always my hope that viewers walk away with an appreciation for how dedicated these athletes are and how powerful the human spirit is.”

Team USA led all other nations at the 2018 Paralympic Games in Peyeongchang, South Korea with 36 total medals. This historic success is directly related to the generous support of organizations like Adaptive Spirit.

“We are beyond excited to have Carolyn as the Emcee for our event,” said Steve Raymond, co‐chair of Adaptive Spirit. “Her sports expertise, especially with the Paralympic Games, will bring such an added and welcome perspective as we celebrate our amazing athletes.”

Manno, made her hosting debut in Rio, and previously served as a freestyle skiing reporter at the 2014 Sochi Games, and was a Sportsdesk reporter at the 2012 London Olympics. Manno also worked as a studio host during the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2014 Sochi Paralympics. She is the recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Journalism.

The Gala, hosted by Manno, closes out an event that also features three days of special panel discussions and meetings on adaptive technology in the cable and telecommunications industry. The initial panel, taking place on Thursday, April 5 will feature an in‐depth discussion on the use of Artificial Intelligence to aid accessibility. Current AI technology has increasingly become a new favorite among those needing specialized devices due to disabilities. While some artificially intelligent technology is still fairly new, great potential is there with advances in robot caregivers, AI for the visually‐impaired (text‐to‐speech translations that describe to smart glasses and vision‐free communication that could serve as digital eyes for the blind), self‐driving cars, “smart canes” and robotic exoskeletons. The panel is moderated by Tom Wlodkowski ‐ VP Accessibility & Multicultural Technology & Product, Comcast and also features Mic Locker – Managing Director, Deloitte, Will McMaster – VP Innovation Labs, Comcast and Marwan Fawaz – CEO, Nest. Fawaz will kick off this discussion with a keynote.

More information on these events can be found at the following link: Adaptive Spirit

For those who cannot attend the event but would like to support the cause, donations can be taken here: Give to Adaptive Spirit

Media Contacts

Colette Carey
Publicity Chair
(303) 875‐7275
colette.carey@yahoo.com