‘Miracles’ to happen in North Dakota
‘Miracles’ to happen in North Dakota
Adaptive ski facility proposed for Bottineau Winter Park
By MARVIN BAKER
EDITOR
A New York man who started a charitable organization following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, was in North Dakota last week planning a winter park geared toward disabled children and adults and wounded warriors.
Jeff Farness, the founder and chairman of New York Says Thank You Foundation, stopped in New Town and Parshall, along with several other communities to solicit donations for a proposed adaptive ski facility to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
The ski facility is proposed for the Bottineau Winter Park and would be in memory of Ann Nicole Nelson, the former Stanley woman who perished when the World Trade Center towers were destroyed. She was working for Cantor-Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the north tower when it collapsed.
One of Nelson’s passions was skiing, according to Farness, and another was social justice issues for children, women and the less fortunate. Her father Gary Nelson, is a ski instructor at Bottineau Winter Park and her monther Jenette, is a teacher, Farness said.
“I think that’s what Ann would have wanted,” Farness said. “It’s about sharing the story and it’s going to reach a lot of people across North Dakota and the Canadian prairies.”
