BOSTON, MA (February 1, 2000) -- Woolf Associates today announced that it has finalized a deal on behalf of Willie O'Ree, the retired hockey star best known as the first African American to play in the National Hockey League, with Nik Design. The three-year agreement, negotiated by Woolf Associates' Senior Director of Athlete Marketing Kim Zayotti, establishes O'Ree as a worldwide spokesman for Nik Design's hockey scoreboards.

O'Ree broke the NHL color barrier in 1958, when he took the ice for the Boston Bruins. Although his career in the NHL was relatively short, he played 21 years in the old Western League, primarily with the Los Angeles Blades and San Diego Gulls. Even more remarkable, O'Ree played the majority of his career after losing 97% of the vision in his right eye. He became one of the best players and personalities hockey has ever known -- despite his physical challenge, and despite the color of his skin. O'Ree's biography for children, The Story of Willie O'Ree, will be published later this year by Somerville House Publishers, a division of Penguin Putnam Books.

In addition to his work on behalf of the NHL, where he serves as the Director of the NHL/USA Hockey Diversity Task Force, O'Ree will now be seen in Nik Design's promotional materials as well as its advertising campaign. O'Ree is also expected to make public appearances to promote Nik Design's hockey scoreboards.

"As director of the Diversity task Force, Willie O'Ree serves as an inspirational speaker and ambassador of hockey," commented Kim Zayotti of Woolf Associates. "Likewise, he will be an effective spokesman for Nik Design."

Woolf Associates is one of the nation's founding sports marketing and athlete representation firms. The agency currently represents many top sports and entertainment personalities including: Tom Glavine, Grant Fuhr, David Wells, Cam Neely, Billy Andrade, Doug Flutie, Tony Jacklin, Felix Potvin and Cory Everson, among others. In addition, Woolf Associates manages sponsorships, sports and event marketing for national corporate clients including: John Hancock, Bell Atlantic, Fleet Financial Services, EMC, and UNUM Corporation; and produces major entertainment events. Woolf Associates can be found on the World Wide Web at woolfassociates.com.