Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / April 14, 1999, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of Meredith College Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Meredith Herald April 14, 1999 Special Olympics ^99 Cessna Aircraft announces its 1999 athlete airlift to RDU Jennifer Whitlow Cessna Aitctatt Transportation for Team USA Special Olympics athletes to . and from the Special Olympics World Games, scheduled for every four years, is the responsibility of each state’s Special Olympics orga nization. Although some states do have modest travel budgets, attending the Games is a finan cial challenge. A unique alter native was first offered in 1987 and has been repeated every four years since: The Citation Special Olympics Airlift (CSOA). Cessna Citation business jet operators donate their aircraft, pilots and fuel for what is known as the world's largest peacetime airlift. Their passen gers are Special Olympics ath letes bound for the summer Games. With every occurrence, CSOA has grown in size of the volunteer fleet and the numbers of athlete passengers. As a result, resources of the state Special Olympics groups that participate in the Airlift can be diverted to additional priorities such as programs and sports equipment. The 1999 Special Olympics World Gairies will be held in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC June 26 through July 4. The Airlift will bring athletes to the site on June 25 and return them to their homes on July 5. This will be the fourth Citation Special Olympics Air lift. Nearly 300 Citations from over 280 companies in 40 states are expected to partici pate. They will transport nearly 2,000 athletes from 27 states. The arrival and departure site is Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). On June 25. Citations will be landing and departing every two or three minutes over a 10-12 hour peri od. On July 5, the Citations will return to RDU to repeat the process. The first Citation Special Olympics Airlift was in 1987 when the Special Olympics World Games were held in South Bend, Ind. Nearly 1,000 athletes were passengers on over 130 Citations. In 1991. 200 Citations transported near ly 1.500 athletes to and from the Games in St.Paul. Minn. The 1995 site was Hanford. Conn. and 1,600 athletes were flown by 215 Citations. The Airlift originated from a request made to Cessna Air craft Company Chairman and CEO Russ Meyer in the mid- 80s. One of his neighbors approached him about whether Cessna could assist Special Olympics Kansas in transport ing athletes to the upcoming Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Subsequently, Meyer spoke with Special Olympics Chairman Sargent Shriver. From that conversation, the Athlete Profiles - ‘99 World Games Pres Rei.b«!e, TtNA Witsc»i'99 World Gamk- John Greer, Tesm USA - {CanS3S4 Ittakesyeare of h;mt practice and determina tion K> beciMTie a si«x«ssftl athlete, but in Special CHympics, athletes lite Jdih Greer experience succcss when Aey ovwcotr® hurdles that have been in ftm of them fw- yeaR. Hits summer, Greer will travel to Ncfth Caroliii!' to compete on the Team USA - Kjujsjb at the ‘99 World Games. His expoience at the 1988 Spaiial Olyn^cs KaiKas Sammer Games, whexe his team won a gold medal, will serve him well this summer. An outstanding athlete. Greer, an 18-year old from Olathe, Kan., has competed fr many ysar% in trade and field, basketbdl. Ijowling, aquatics, soc»r. volleyball, sofibaU and skiing Specie Oiyn^ics. “1 have a lot mfffe self-confidence and Self pritie,’’Gteer said- like ta wwl? as a team, while I gei to fanicipate in the spwts that I bve flie most.” In ^ition to bis Specis^ Olynipics accon^lishnwnis, Oeer has been inducted into the Walk of Stas, a Kareas program that hon«s |MX»fessionai athletes, rnid vot«i the "Most Inspira^ona! Ath lete” for the Blue %11^ Northwest Junior Varsity, hfs high school’s men’s soccer team, ftr whid>. he has served as manager. Greer ha& won many medals, but his main motivaiaon is to participate in Spo^iat CHympics and to share the ftin of die Games .with his family and fiiends. Cliris Northcutt, Team USA - Colorado: chrfs N«thctiti was mne yeare old when he first rode solo on h» htvrse. Tiw horse tfxik irff, and Nonhcutt werittumbling to the grotmd, but NcH^utt got right back »i and iias been passionate about riding evCT since. It is this spirit ftar will ro^e Nt»theutt a great asset to Co)(»ado*s equesrrian team at the '99 World Games- There, he will compete in trails, halter/lMiile and western stock seat equestriap. Northcittt, 18, fi«t gcw involved with Special Olympics nine years He participated with Col orado's team until it discorttinued its equestrian trogram five yeare ago. The fffogram - and Nonh- cott’s involveroent - started up again years ago. NorAcuR also rides and shows w^tem in 4-H .shows independendy at die walk, trc^ and lope. NcffUicutt^the only person with mental disabilities in 4-H ft-om his ccrtitJty, eompSK in five 4-H shows a year. NortlKutt was bom with Down syndrome, yet also has bid to deal with complications paniy cau.sed by his being bom five weeks premature. However, Nfirthaitt, has fulfilled a prophecy his' dad made shortly his birth; “He’ll ride a hwse sotnedayr’ Everyone in the family rides horses and compete. Although Northcutt has endured many difficutties. he has inspired trfhers. ffis sister. Alexis, 16, said he has taught her everybody is worthwhi le. concept grew to encompass multiple states, and the Cita tion Special Olympics Airiift was born. Arkansas Special Olympics Director Bobby Doyle described the impact of the CSOA in 1995, "...what’s won derful is that the pilots treat the Special Olympics athletes like the very important people they are. To see their faces when they’re onboard the aircraft is such a thrill. It makes all the difference in the world..." Minnesota Development Director Mark Smaby said. “We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to not only train an athlete, but to contribute to their self-esteem and confi dence and enhance their future contributions as citizens. I feel the Airlift is a very important part of the whole concept.” Airlift planning begins two years ahead of the actual event date and relies heavily on the expertise and volunteer spirit of individuals - many of them from the local area - plus major companies and organizations. Representatives of the group supporting the 1999 Airlift are the Federal Aviation Adminis tration, Raleigh-Durham Air port Authority. Piedmont Hawthorne, United Parcel Ser vice and the Experimental Air craft Association’s young Eagles Program. Pilots of the participating aircraft number 600 per day. bringing the over all volunteer total to more than 1.500 people. The 1999 CSOA will hold a media briefing on Apr. 15 at 10:30 a.m. at the Piedmont West Hangar at RDU Interna tional Airport. A ramp tour and luncheon will follow the brief ing. If you have any questions about CSOA, contact Jennifer Whitlow at 316-517-6488. Enter to Win Opening Ceremony Tickets Press Release • Tina Wilson, '99 World Ga.mes You don’t want to miss this big event - but you might if you don’t act now. There are a limited number of seats available for the Open ing Ceremonies of the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games on June 26. These tickets will be distributed to the general public through a lottery. Entries will be accepted through May 14. All entries should be mailed to: 4000 West Cha.sc Blvd., Suite 325, Raleigh, NC 27607. There should be only one entry per person. Each entry must include the person’s name, address and phone numbers along with an indication of how many tickets desired (two maximum) and a self- addressed stamped envelope. Special Olympics athletes will select all the winning entries the week of May 17-21. Winning notices will be sent out immediately. Winners will be asked to pick up their tickets at certain times during the week of June 21 -25 at Carter-Finley Stadium. If you have any questions regarding the *99 World Summer Special Olympics Games, contact Tina Wilson, director of media relations or Li-Chun Hsu, manager of media relations. Questions can be faxed to 919-835-4292.
Meredith College Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 14, 1999, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75