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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Susan Blexrud 407-246-3107 or pager 407-231-8927 Clarissa Comia 407-246-3845 or pager 407-231-9080
MAYOR HOOD, COCA-COLA AND CHEVROLET TO ANNOUNCE CENTRAL FLORIDA’S OLYMPIC TORCHBEARERS
ORLANDO, Fla. (October 30, 2001) — This morning at 9 a.m., Mayor Glenda E. Hood, Coca-Cola and Chevrolet will announce at the Outlook Dock on the north side of Lake Eola the Olympic torchbearers selected to carry the Olympic flame in Central Florida. The Olympic flame will travel on a 65-day, 13,500-mile journey from Atlanta to Salt Lake City to start the 2002 Winter Olympics. Selected torchbearers were chosen from more than 210,000 nominees; Central Florida torchbearers were chosen from areas such as Daytona Beach, Deland, Orlando, Volusia and Winter Park. “We are thrilled that citizens from Central Florida will represent our community as participants in the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay,” said Mayor Hood. “Their stories of inspiration and lives of courageousness give us the hope we need to accomplish our own goals.” Local torchbearers include Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys, WESH anchor Wendy Chioji and Dr. Gregor Alexander, a neonatologist at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women. The torchbearers were nominated by family members, friends and colleagues who wrote a 50 to 100-word essay explaining how the nominee embodied the Olympic spirit and provided inspiration to others and their community. Including the 82 torchbearers announced in Central Florida, 7,200 community torchbearers have been announced nationwide. An additional 4,000 Olympic torchbearers were selected through programs involving sponsors, providers and Olympians and other athletes from several U.S. national Olympic governing bodies. The Olympic flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, before traveling to Atlanta – where the flame last rested on American soil – and starting its cross-country journey through 46 states on December 4, 2001. Each day, an average of 180 torchbearers will carry the flame approximately two-tenths of a mile. Each day, an average of 180 torchbearers will carry the flame approximately two-tenths of a mile. For a complete list of Central Florida’s torchbearers, you can access our Web site at www.cityoforlando.net and click on “News.”
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Torchbearers selected through the SLOC nomination process
LastName
City
ST
Gregor
Alexander
Orlando
FL
Mora
Arnold
Valrico
Corey
Bainter
Tammy
Casey
Baker
Palm Bay
Benjamin
Barnhart
Spring Hill
Craig
South Lake Tahoe
CA
Nancy
Chang
Ooltewah
TN
Wendy
Chioji
Winter Park
Debi
Christy
Diane
Dover
Merritt Island
Cynthia
Forbes
Cocoa
Frances
Gaberino
Tampa
Geoffrey
Atlanta
GA
Abby
Grimm
Brandon
Ronald
Heath
Alexandria
VA
Debra
Keller
Indialantic
Victoria
Lane
Longwood
Israel
Lopez
Mike
Nicholson
St. Petersburg
John
Palko
Corbyn
Pingel
Lutz
Candy
Powery
Gerry
Centreville
Daniel
Raad
Seminole
Robert
Samuels
Rupert
Smith III
Ruskin
Lisa
Sonntag
Warren
Squire
Sebastian
Marianne
Squire-Maszer
North Brunswick
NJ
Julie
Templin
Amy
Torres
Samuel
West
Gilbertina
Wright
Mildred
Wilkerson
Ronda
Zucco
Lakeland
Torchbearers selected through the Chevrolet Nomination process
Paul
Anderson
Inverness
Virginia
Barker
James
Brinckerhoff
Meaghan
Carroll
Bradenton
Champlin
Clearwater
R Suzanne
Chase
New Port Richey
Dawn
Chick
Cape Canaveral
Alfred
Davis
Sonya
Dean
Geneva
Robin
Frisella
Michele
Gregory
Henry (Mick)
Heard
Deland
Melinda
Korte
St Petersburg
Karen
Lee
Cocoa Beach
Laura
Lockwood
Sally
Lucia
Maura
Maxfield
Odessa
Pamela
McCauley-Bell
Kelly
Miller
Homosassa
Elizabeth
Rossman
Titusville
Suzanne
Sacks
Theodore J
Sochar Jr