People
Going for Gold

NEA members fulfill their dreams at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games

During the past few months, members from Maine to California secured their places in Olympic history. Some carried the Olympic torch, while others performed in the opening ceremony or supervised the competitions. But regardless of their responsibilities, NEA's Olympians agree that being part of the Olympic Games is an unbelievable experience.

"It is one of the rarest opportunities that I've ever had," says Mary Ann Wilcox, a social studies teacher from Rock Springs, Wyoming. "It makes me proud to be an American."

Wilcox was one of about 500 ice skaters who performed in the opening ceremony of the 2002 Olympics. She skated as a child and resumed skating about 12 years ago.

"The whole Olympic movement in Salt Lake has been a real unifying effort," she says. "It's been a wonderful experience of which I'm pleased to be a part."

NEA member Jerry Nadeau, associate director of admissions at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, framed his acceptance letter after he was selected to assist with the biathlon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing with marksmanship. As one of six range supervisors, Nadeau (shown here resetting a target) monitored the targets on the course and recorded the points athletes earned for their shots.

"It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he says.

As a child, Sam Childress, of Grand Junction, Colorado, dreamed about being part of the Olympics. Childress, who has used a wheelchair for the past 21 years, realized his dream when he carried the Olympic torch on February 2. Childress completed his leg of the torch relay about one mile from Grand Mesa Middle School, where he teaches science.

"You hope that you inspire your students when you get to do something like that, for them to look at me and get a little bit of motivation," he says.

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Coca-Cola, and Chevrolet accepted nominations in March and April 2001 for potential torchbearers. Organizers selected 11,500 torchbearers from the more than 210,000 nominations received. Each participant carried the torch about two-tenths of a mile. During its 65-day journey, the Olympic flame traveled 13,500 miles through 46 states, the greatest number of states ever covered by an Olympic torch relay in the United States.

Joe Fuller, a special education teacher from Springfield, Missouri, remembers seeing people along the road holding American flags and hearing them chant "U-S-A" during his torch run.

"They say it's like a life-changing experience and it really is, because you're drawn closer to everything. It's just really neat," Fuller says.

Fuller's run held special significance for him because his daughter, Megan Culver, also participated in the relay. Culver, who nominated her father for the relay, was the first person to light her torch when the relay arrived in Columbia, Missouri. Six runners later, the Olympic flame reached her dad.

"The truly amazing thing is that a lot of the schools let their kids out to watch the relay," says Culver, a fourth grade teacher from Liberty, Missouri. "So you saw a row of children sitting there and chanting ?U-S-A.' That was neat, especially being a teacher."

Phyllis Bailey, an NEA-Retired member in San Bernardino, California, ran in the torch relay after her son nominated her. Bailey retired from full-time teaching in 1991 after 43 years in the classroom. She has worked as a substitute since then.

"It's such an honor. I've always loved the Olympics," Bailey says of her run. "And to have my son nominate me was very moving."

Phyllis Ranson, of Holland, Michigan, still has a hard time describing how she felt when she was selected to run with the torch. "I was really surprised at my reaction, because as soon as I found out I started bawling??and I'm not a crier," she says. "I just never thought it would really happen."

The week following her run, Ranson, an elementary physical education teacher, brought her Olympic torch to school so her students could have their pictures taken with it.

"Even now, I'm floored that I actually got to do it," Ranson says. "It was like being famous for a while."

--Kristen Loschert

NEA's Olympic Heroes

Nancy Allen, Missouri, teacher, torch relay; Dane Allred, Utah, high school drama teacher, torch relay; Debbie Allred, Utah, high school dance and English teacher, torch relay; George Armstrong, Michigan, high school special education teacher, torch relay; Phyllis Bailey, California, retired teacher, torch relay; Don Beam, Michigan, elementary physical education teacher, torch relay; Kevin Bellavance, Massachusetts, academic curriculum coordinator, torch relay; Kirk Benson, Idaho, social worker, torch relay; Clarinda Brueck, New Jersey, sixth grade science teacher, torch relay; Marjory Bubach, North Dakota, English teacher, torch relay; Sam Childress, Colorado, middle school science teacher, torch relay; Linda Conroy, Utah, kindergarten teacher, torch relay; Daniel Coughlin, Massachusetts, high school dean, torch relay; Bob Crosby, Michigan, high school physical education teacher, torch relay; Megan Culver, Missouri, fourth grade teacher, torch relay; James Farmer, Idaho, middle school math teacher, torch relay; Joe Fuller, Missouri, middle school special education teacher, torch relay; Mary T. Haley, Missouri, teacher, torch relay; Susan Hanly, Massachusetts, school nurse, torch relay; Sarah Henderson, Utah, elementary special education teacher, torch relay; Patricia Larkin, New Jersey, retired guidance counselor, torch relay; Chris Lechien, Pennsylvania, teacher, torch relay; Wendy Letourneau, Massachusetts, special education assistant, torch relay; Leda Levine, Massachusetts, high school physical education teacher, torch relay; Laura Lukassen, Colorado, special education teacher, torch relay; Cathy Lynch, Idaho, first grade teacher, torch relay; Kathy Milan, Massachusetts, high school physical education teacher, torch relay; Jerry Nadeau, Maine, assistant director of admissions, range supervisor for the biathlon; Keith O'Brien, Massachusetts, social studies teacher, torch relay; Tess Palczyski, Utah, middle school special education teacher, torch relay; Ned Pollert, Colorado, high school special education teacher, torch relay; Sam Provenza, Colorado, elementary physical education teacher, torch relay; Phyllis Ranson, Michigan, elementary physical education teacher, torch relay; Terri Rice, Colorado, junior high school teacher, torch relay; Allen Russell, Colorado, elementary physical education teacher, torch relay; Linda Stacey, Massachusetts, special education teacher, torch relay; Cathleen Tippett, Idaho, fifth grade teacher, torch relay; Jim Walker, Utah, retired middle school history teacher, torch relay; Sharon Wangsgard, Utah, junior high school physical education teacher, torch relay; Trudy Welsh, Colorado, elementary teacher, torch relay; Russ Werth, North Dakota, high school physical education teacher, torch relay; Mary Ann Wilcox, Wyoming, high school social studies teacher, opening ceremony; Gale Wondrasek, North Dakota, middle school physical education teacher, torch relay; Dave Potter, Michigan, adaptive physical education teacher, torch relay.