William E. Simon Olympic Endowment for the Support of Athletes awards 2017 grant funding to 18 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls

COLORADO SPRINGS – The United States Olympic Committee today announced that the trustees for the William E. Simon Olympic Endowment for the Support of Athletes have approved $70,000 in 2017 grant funding to 18 men and women pursuing their dreams of representing the United States at future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Established in 1998 with a gift of $1 million from its namesake, William E. Simon, the William E. Simon Olympic Endowment for the Support of Athletes provides financial aid to underwrite a portion of athletes’ training and competition expenses. Grants are awarded annually. Funds are invested with the U.S. Olympic Endowment and are administered by the USOC.

Members of the Simon family serve as trustees for the Simon Endowment, as well as for the William E. Simon Foundation. Since the program’s inception, nearly $1 million has been awarded by the USOC to more than 200 athletes.

The 2017 recipients are (with current residence):

Femita Ayanbeku, Paralympic track & field (Whitman, Massachusetts)
Amanda Chidester, softball (Allen Park, Michigan)
McKenna Dahl, Paralympic shooting (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Tammy Delano, Paralympic shooting (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Jenna Fesemyer, Paralympic track & field (Ravenna, Ohio)
Brandon Frazier, figure skating (Manitou Springs, Colorado)
Benjamin Goodrich, Paralympic judo (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Neil Hughes, Paralympic snowboarding (Kamas, Utah)
Desmond Jackson, Paralympic track & field (Durham, North Carolina)
Christian Lewin, Paralympic track & field (O’Fallon, Missouri)
Amanda Malawski, Paralympic track & field (Sugar Grove, Illinois)
Evan Medell, Paralympic taekwondo (Grand Haven, Michigan)
Michelle Moultrie, softball (Jacksonville, Florida)
Michael Murray, Paralympic track & field (Nashville, Tennessee)
Meghan O’Leary, rowing (Princeton, New Jersey)
Regina Salmons, rowing (Methuen, Massachusetts)
Elisa Wallace, equestrian (Jasper, Georgia)
Thomas Walsh, Paralympic alpine skiing (Vail, Colorado)

For nearly four decades, Simon was dedicated to advancing the goals and ideals of the Olympic Movement in the United States. He served as treasurer of the USOC from 1977-81 and as its president from 1981-85, including during the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and Sarajevo. In 1985, Simon co-founded the U.S. Olympic Foundation, now the U.S. Olympic Endowment (USOE), using surplus funds generated from the Los Angeles Games. He served as the USOE’s chairman until 1997.

Simon received the Silver Award of the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee in 1985, and in 1991 he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

In addition to his success in business, Simon was appointed as the 63rd Secretary of the Treasury by President Nixon in 1974, a post to which he was reappointed by President Ford and which he held until 1977.

For additional information, please email the USOC at simon.grant@usoc.org.