BREAKING NEWS: GPD Sergeant to Ring NYSE Opening Bell on Friday.

GPD Sergeant Roger Petrone will have the honor of ringing the New York Stock Exchange Opening Bell tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.  Petrone, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (“ALS’) or Lou Gehrig’s disease (a  disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement) is the catalyst behind “Ride for Roger” which raised a substantial amount of money for ALS research.

Here are the details of Friday’s event from the NYSE PRESS RELEASE: ===================================================================

ALS Therapy Development Institute visits the NYSE to bring awareness to the eighth annual Tri-State Trek– a three-day 270 mile bicycle ride from Boston to NYC on July 23-25. In honor of the occasion, Sergeant Roger Petrone, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2007 and remains on active duty with The Greenwich Police Department, rings The Opening Bell^SM, accompanied by Dr. Steve Perrin, CEO & Chief Scientific Officer, ALS Therapy Development Institute.

Watch a live webcast of The Opening Bell at 9:29 a.m. ET on May 28, 2010. The archive will be available shortly after the event.

The ride will benefit the ALS Therapy Development Institute, a nonprofit biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of effective therapeutics for ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease.

In 2009, Sgt. Petrone’s fellow officers, working with the Greenwich Board of Selectmen, area businesses and local leadership, organized the ‘Ride for Roger’ campaign, fielded a team of nine cyclists and raised over $30,000 for ALS research. They will ride again this year to raise additional money for ALS research.

About the Tri-State Trek
The Tri-State Trek began in 2003, when 16 riders cycled from Newton, Mass to White Plains, NY and raised $30,000 for ALS research. In 2006, in an effort to reach into the communities it cycled through, the event launched its ‘More Cowbell!’ campaign. A knock-off on the pop-culture catch phrase originally delivered by Christopher Walken in a quasi-famous Saturday Night Live skit, cowbells have been used in bicycle racing since the early 1900’s. For participants of the Trek, “More Cowbell!” is about more noise and more support for an orphaned disease and its patients that will not stand silent. For more information on the Trek, or to learn how you can ride, volunteer or cheer visit www.NeedMoreCowbell.org.

About the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI)
ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), a federally registered 501(c)3, is currently the world’s largest ALS research facility. The mission of ALS TDI is to develop effective therapeutics that stop ALS as soon as possible by executing a robust discovery program, as well as a multi-pronged approach to validate potential therapeutics; including small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. Built by and for today’s patients, the Institute’s unique, industrial-scale platform allows for the development and testing of dozens of potential therapeutics each year. For more information please visit www.ALS.net.