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Request for stock-exchange tour leads to a special offer
By Mary M. Shaffrey
JOURNAL WASHINGTON BUREAU

A request that began as an anniversary present for her husband put Rep. Virginia Foxx in the spotlight yesterday.

With her grandchildren, Rana and Ke-nan Ozemir, standing alongside her, Foxx, R-5th, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Foxx had called the exchange last week to find out if they could tour the place while they were in New York on a family holiday.

"I thought it would be neat to take him there, something special," Foxx said.

A few days later, she said, she got a call back with the offer of a present for her - a chance to ring the bell.

So yesterday, 42 years after she and Tom Foxx tied the knot, the congresswoman and her grandchildren stepped to a po-di-um and opened the market for the day.

"The kids really enjoyed it," she said.

Ringing the opening bell is akin to throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game. Rep. Mel Watt, D-12th, did it one day in September.

According to a NYSE spokeswoman, 90 percent of the people who ring bells are businessmen and women. The rest of the time the honor is reserved for public officials and well-known individuals, including professional athletes and movie stars.

Foxx said that the family toured the floor of the Stock Exchange and met with some of the traders who do business with North Carolina companies. She said one was even interested in sending his daughter to Ap-palachian State University - where Foxx once worked as an instructor and administrator.

"I told him that was a great school," she said.

Yesterday was the unofficial North Carolina Day at the Stock Exchange, because Rep. Charles Taylor, R-11th, rang the closing bell.

• Mary M. Shaffrey can be reached in Washington at (202) 662-7672 or at mshaffrey-@wsjournal.com

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