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DALLAS PRESS
CONFERENCE
Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk held
a press conference at Dallas City Hall on Thursday, October 18, to officially
announce that the Olympic Flame would pass through Dallas, Texas, on December
12. All Dallas/Fort Worth area torchbearers were invited to the press
conference.
Susan said that the whole
time Mayor Kirk was talking, he kept looking at Ashley, who was sitting
in her wheelchair on the front row wearing a red, white, and blue "flag"
shirt. Three torchbearers had been pre-selected to briefly tell the story
of how they were nominated to carry the Olympic Flame. The final speaker
never showed up, so Mayor Kirk asked Ashley if she would like to come
up and say a few words. Ashley's voice was very weak, so I wheeled her
up to the front and proceeded to tell her story. When I was finished,
the whole room erupted in applause, with people shouting "Way to
go, Ashley!" and similar sentiments. It was very touching!
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Click
here to see a video of the Press Conference, put together by Dallas
Community Television. The video is presented here in RealMedia format
(requiring the free RealOne Player).
It is 4 minutes 15 seconds in length. |
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Here
are some video captures and audio from the Press Conference. Click
any picture to see it slightly enlarged. |
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When one of the scheduled
speakers didn't show up for the press conference, Mayor Kirk asked
Ashley if she would like to come up and say a few words.
Click
here to hear Mayor Kirk. (transcript)
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I wheeled Ashley up
to the front in her wheelchair. Since her voice was too weak to
be heard by the crowd, I proceeded to tell Ashley's story. As soon
as I had finished, the whole room erupted in applause for Ashley.
People were shouting "Way to go, Ashley!"
Click
here to hear my impromptu rendition of Ashley's story. (transcript)
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After the press conference
had concluded, several news crews came up and interviewed Ashley,
including a television production company named Dallas Community
Television (DCTV). In the DCTV interview, Ashley's answers to the
following questions were captured on video.
"What
would you say to the people of New York who experienced such a devastating
tragedy on September 11?"
Click
here to hear Ashley's answser, which is especially poignant
considering all that she had been through and was going through
at the time. (transcript)
"Why
is it special to you to be selected as an Olympic Torch Bearer?"
Click
here to hear Ashley's answer. (transcript)
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Here are
some more pictures from the press conference. Click any picture to
see it enlarged. |
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Here is
Ashley with fellow 14-year-old cancer survivor and Olympic Torchbearer
Lindsay. We had received an e-mail from Lindsay after the newspaper
article ran in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and then we got to meet
Lindsay and her Mom at the press conference. |
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Here is
a picture of our family (minus Justin, who was in school) with Dallas
Mayor Ron Kirk. |
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This picture
apperared in the Dallas Morning News on October 19, the day after
the press conference. |
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