EPWU USO BIKE TOUR Media Advisory Contact: Christina Montoya, Vice President-Marketing and Communication 915-594-5596 (office), e-mail: cmontoya@epwu.org Date: June 3, 2009 El Paso — Over 100 bicyclists pedaled in from Texas, New Mexico and Chihuahua, and united on Sunday, May 31, for the El Paso Water Utilities sponsored the United Service Organization Bike Tour. The tour,  which started and finished at Painted Dunes Golf Course, was broken up into 30 and 60 mile races. Each race had over fifty participants and attracted people of all ages; the youngest cyclist was a fourteen year old girl from Horizon City. “We had a great turnout of cyclists for the USO Tour, beautiful weather the day of the event which the cyclists appreciated, not to mention the great location and hospitality provided by Painted Dunes,” said Bruce Ponikvar, EPWU Database Administrator and USO Bike Tour organizer. This spring, the Public Service Board decided to sponsor the USO for 2009. For the past month and a half EPWU employees have been hosting various fundraising events such as the bike tour in an eager attempt to raise funds.  Over $2,000 was raised from the bike tour alone, and all proceeds will go to the USO. The USO is currently in the process of building a new facility for troops stationed or just passing through Fort Bliss as they await deployment. The funds will be used for the purchase of computers, furniture, and televisions for the new facility. “I contacted several business locally and nationally to support or sponsor the event and the response I received was amazing. There are a only a handful of local cycling tours in El Paso which is why I was happy to organize the USO Tour. I am proud to have been able to help raise money for the USO and support our local troops,” stated Ponikvar.