The U.S. Olympic Committee announced today that Steve Raymond, Senior Vice President of National Accounts for Disney and ESPN Media Networks, has been selected to serve as Chef de Mission of the U.S. Team for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games to be held in Vancouver, Canada, March 12-21.

As Chef de Mission, Raymond’s role is to provide leadership to the U.S. Paralympic Team during the ten days of competition, as well as serve as the senior representative on behalf of the delegation with the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and other National Paralympic Committees (NPCs).

“Steve Raymond is a great ambassador for the Paralympic movement both domestically and internationally,” said Stephanie Streeter, USOC Acting Chief Executive Officer. “His personal commitment to growing Paralympic opportunities and awareness made him a unanimous choice for the USOC to select him as our leader for the 2010 Paralympic Games.”

Raymond has been a longtime leader in Paralympic sport. He serves on the Board of Directors for the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) in Winter Park, Colo., and he previously served on the Board of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association representing the Adaptive Alpine and Nordic Teams.

“I am honored to be named Chef de Mission for the 2010 U.S. Paralympic Team,” said Raymond. “I have seen first hand the incredible amount of effort and talent it takes to make the Paralympic Team. I am very humbled to help represent our country and the athletes in Vancouver.”

Raymond is a co-founder and co-chair of SkiTAM, an annual fundraising ski event put on by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Cable Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), which generates funds for the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team. Since its inception 14 years ago, SkiTAM has raised more than $5 million from the cable television industry to benefit the team.

Raymond resides in Centennial, Colo. with his wife RuthAnne and their four daughters.

More than 60 U.S. athletes will represent the 2010 U.S. Paralympic Team in Vancouver. Approximately 600 athletes from around the world will compete in five sports and more than 60 medal events.

Actress and model, Gabrielle Union, is seeking more than $100,000 in damages from Calvin High and Steve Raymond, two Georgia men who allegedly posted a craigslist ad looking to hire an assistant for Gabby without her permission. According to the lawsuit filed in federal court on Friday, Gabby suffered “severe emotional distress” as a result of the ad and is suing for: (1) fraudulent impersonation; (2) invasion of privacy; and (3) conspiracy to commit criminal conduct.

Popsquire’s perspective…

This sounds like a prank-gone-wrong or an identity theft scheme. Either these guys just wanted to meet some pretty ladies in the interview process, or they may have been gathering personal information from employment applications for identity theft.

Unless the defendants have some bucks, this lawsuit likely won’t result in any monetary gain for Gabby, but Popsquire is proud of her for pursuing legal remedies and protecting her fans!

For more information on identity theft, which affected almost 10 million Americans last year, check out this helpful link.