NEW YORK — Steve Russell, the president and CEO of Celadon Trucking, has been invited to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this Friday, in honor of his company’s 15th year as a public company and 24th year in business.

The ceremony will take place at NASDAQ’s MarketSite in Times Square in New York City.

Russell has plenty of experience opening things. Last fall, the entrepreneur was the opening speaker at the Truck World show in Toronto. 

Celadon, which also runs a Canadian division out of Kitchener, Ont., is being recognized for a long litany of achievements, despite having been around for only 15 years.

Otherwise, it’s been a so-so month for Celadon. Share prices have been up in recent weeks but in his latest report to shareholders, Russell reported that his company is taking its licks because of the flailing economy.

"As a consequence of the fall-off in the U.S. economy," Russell said, "we experienced a significant decline in loaded miles run as well as an increase in empty miles."

Russell reported that for the six months ending December 31, 2008, revenue decreased 2.2 percent to $265.5 million from $272.4 million for the same period last year.

Click here for an exclusive audio interview todaystrucking.com recently did with Russell on the economic hurdles faced by the trucking industry.