A few thoughts from Jack Kelly, CEO World Games 2010 Foundation, Inc on that special day – 29 December 2007On 29 December, the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games celebrates a major milestone—with the beginning of the 1,000 day countdown to the Games’ opening ceremonies. The awareness and enthusiasm is growing each day with many specific games-related activities already underway in preparation for these Games. It has been a busy and exciting year so I thought I would take a moment to give you some of the highlights. Just this week, we are pleased to announce that Rolex has signed on as a sponsor with the designation of the "Official Timepiece" for the Games; Our merchandising program has already exceeded total sales in comparison to the 2006 Games, and we have started a co-branding effort; We launched a weekly local radio program on WLAP in Lexington. Viewers from around the world can log on and listen live or download podcasts to find out what is happening with the Games; We installed a permanent display at Blue Grass Airport to build awareness among those flying into Lexington; Major construction continues at the Kentucky Horse Park on transportation systems, a new indoor arena and the outdoor stadium; In October, we launched our trade show deposit program for vendors and the interest has been incredible—more than 120 deposits received; Also in October, we announced our second major sponsor —Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital; On November 1, we launched a two-week-long ticket deposit program for United States Equestrian Federation members to test our ticketing system and measure interest. That program proved successful as well with more than $6 million in ticket sales; and, World-renowned artist LeRoy Neiman has been commissioned as the official commemorative artist of the Games; As you can see, the excitement is growing and the planning is well underway. We’ve accomplished quite a bit this year, and we know the next 1,000 days will continue to be extremely busy as we prepare to host the world in the heart of the Bluegrass. Jack Kelly,CEOWorld Games 2010 Foundation, Inc.