Press Release

Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. will host the 3rd Annual U.S. Memory Championship - Memoriad 2000 - at its corporate headquarters at 4 Irving Place in Manhattan on Saturday, February 5, 2000 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The five-event national competition for “mental athletes” is expected to draw more than 1,000 participants and spectators.

To qualify, official contestants must memorize 100 names and faces, 500 words, recall a shuffled deck of cards, and memorize a 50-line poem, plus a 100-digit number. Three national winners will be selected to enter the 2000 World Memory Championship to be held in London in August. The competition is open to the general public.

“This is an exciting and educational event each year for all of the challengers, including the Con Edison employees who participate in the competition,” said Frances A. Resheske, vice president of public affairs at Con Edison. “We welcome all of our visitors to our landmark building, and wish the contestants the best of luck,” she added.

This is the second consecutive year that Con Edison has hosted the Memoriad Championship. The USA Memoriad was founded in 1997 by its chairman, Tony Dottino. The umbrella organization for the event, The International Mind Sports Olympiad, was founded in London by Tony Buzan. The first USA Memoriad was held in New York City. Its core mission is to open public consciousness to the idea that 'ordinary' individuals of any age can use their potential to achieve seemingly extraordinary feats.

Con Edison is one of the nation’s largest utility companies, with more than $7 billion in annual revenues and $14 billion in assets. The company, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc., provides electric, gas and steam service to more than three million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison’s web site at www.coned.com.