Firefighter Team Wins 'The Nevada Passage' Made-for-TV Adventure Competition

Firefighter Team Wins 'The Nevada Passage' Made-for-TV Adventure Competition

2 Million Viewers Will See Adventures on Nevada's Wild Landscape

RENO, Nev., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A two-person team of firefighters won "The Nevada Passage" made-for-TV adventure competition Tuesday following the last of six sports events, a vigorous kayak race down the Truckee River that ended at Reno's showplace whitewater park in the heart of the downtown casino district, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt announced today.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040114/NEVTOURLOGO)

The firefighters, Erin Johnson of Greensboro, N.C., and Brian Rothell of Richmond, Va., earned the highest score, 86 out of a possible 120, during the six-day competition that began near Las Vegas May 19 and included adventure sports at Ely, Elko and Fallon. Four other teams also won events, including entrepreneurs, Tom Lyons, 43, a Reno real estate investor who won the kayaking competition with his teammate, Atlanta swimwear company owner Megan Melgaard, 25, in front of a cheering hometown crowd.

"It was a hard-fought competition that is going to excite and intrigue at least 2 million television viewers when the program airs beginning in August," Hunt, chair of the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT), which initiated the event, said. "Some of these fine athletes earned more points than others, but in our eyes, they're all winners and we're proud of them for taking on the challenge and enabling us to create this adventure program."

Twenty amateur athletes from 11 states, paired into 10 teams of one man and one woman by profession, competed for the prize, a trophy. Their ages range from 25 to 58 and two celebrated birthdays during the events. "The Nevada Passage" will be made into a one-hour syndicated program and shown on network affiliate and other TV stations from Aug. 1 through February 2006.

Viewers will see rock-climbing at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Jet Skiing on Lake Mead, both near Las Vegas; four-wheel driving in the high desert near Ely, biking and snowshoeing in Lamoille Canyon near Elko, sandboarding at Sand Mountain near Fallon and kayaking in Reno.

"We created 'The Nevada Passage' to show TV viewers across the country that Nevada has ruggedly beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers and forests made for adventure," Bruce Bommarito, NCOT executive director, said. "This program will broaden Nevada's appeal by showing that the state offers much more in addition to casinos. TV viewers will see for themselves that Nevada is an adventure destination where visitors can experience outdoor recreation on a wild landscape and also stay at resort hotels and enjoy 24-hour entertainment."

Winning the six events were:

* Rock climbing -- Firefighters Erin Johnson, 28, Greensboro, N.C., and
Brian Rothell, 41, Richmond, Va.

* Jet Skiing -- (Same team) Firefighters Erin Johnson, 28, Greensboro,
N.C., and Brian Rothell, 41, Richmond, Va.

* Four-wheeling -- Journalists Melanie Kim, 38, freelance television
reporter, Sacramento, Calif., and Scott Schumaker, 34, freelance
journalist, Boulder, Colo.

* Mountain biking and snowshoe trek -- Teachers Sage Grossi, 27,
geography and meteorology professor, Tempe, Ariz., and Andy Feeney,
27, middle school science teacher, Boulder, Colo.

* Sandboarding -- Bartenders Lara Usinowicz, 35, bartender, Evergreen,
Colo., and Anthony Snoble, 30, bartender and martial arts instructor,
East Islip, N.Y.

* Kayaking -- Entrepreneurs Megan Melgaard, 25, swimwear company
co-owner, Atlanta, Ga., and Tom Lyons, 43, real estate investor, Reno,
Nev.

The Nevada Passage is expected to air in at least 80 TV markets, primarily daytimes during weekends, when sports programs attract the most viewers. Seventy-four stations already have scheduled the program, and it is confirmed to air in Las Vegas on KLAS-TV, Channel 8, Reno on KOLO-TV, Channel 8, and key Nevada travel markets such as Sacramento, Calif., Salt Lake City and Palm Springs, Calif. As stations are added to the roster, updates will be posted regularly on www.nevadapassage.com.

Three Nevada residents among the athletes who TEAM Unlimited, the Hawaii-based company that is producing "The Nevada Passage," selected for the competition are real estate investor Tom Lyons, 43, and lawyer Kent Robison, 58, both lifelong residents of Reno, and Susan Hughes, 39, of Incline Village, a United Airlines pilot who flies 747s. Other states represented in "The Nevada Passage" are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The teams are:

Finance: Randi Grush, 38, chief financial officer of a post-production
facility, Los Angeles, Calif.
Ashley Burt, 37, bank president, Gunnison, Colo.

Law: Ashley Brooks, 30, in-house counsel for a marketing/promotions
agency, Richmond, Va.
Kent Robison, 58, attorney, Reno, Nev.

Aviation: Susan Hughes, 39, commercial pilot, Incline Village, Nev.
Todd Borke, 36, express mail pilot, Anchorage, Alaska.

Teaching: Sage Grossi, 27, geography and meteorology professor, Tempe,
Ariz.
Andy Feeney, 27, middle school science teacher, Boulder, Colo.

Bartending: Lara Usinowicz, 35, bartender, Evergreen, Colo.
Anthony Snoble, 29, bartender and martial arts instructor, East Islip,
N.Y.

Medicine: Kathleen Coutinho, 34, sports chiropractor, Springfield, Va.
Audie Smith, 51, anesthesiologist and assistant professor of medicine,
Knoxville, Tenn.

Entrepreneurs: Megan Melgaard, 25, swimwear company co-owner, Atlanta,
Ga.
Tom Lyons, 43, real estate investor, Reno, Nev.

Journalists: Melanie Kim, 38, freelance television reporter, Sacramento,
Calif.
Scott Schumaker, 34, freelance journalist, Boulder, Colo.

Firefighting: Erin Johnson, 28, Greensboro, N.C.,
Brian Rothell, 41, Richmond, Va.

Veterinary Medicine: Kylie Kavanagh, 30, veterinarian, Winston-Salem,
N.C.
Rory Carolan, 48, veterinarian, Bethesda, Md.

NCOT is sponsoring The Nevada Passage along with Nissan, Paul Mitchell, XTERRA Gear, XTERRA Wetsuits, K2 Sports, Kawasaki, Stearns kayaks, Atlas Snow-Shoe Company and Zorrel sportswear company of Henderson.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040114/NEVTOURLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nevada Commission on Tourism

CONTACT: Chris Chrystal of Nevada Commission on Tourism,
+1-775-687-4322, cchrystal@travelnevada.com

Web site: http://www.travelnevada.com/
http://www.nevadapassage.com/

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