|
|
|
THE
NATIONAL MS SOCIETY...ONE THING PEOPLE WITH MS CAN COUNT ON
news bulletin
Dateline:
January 3, 2002
Chapter Members Carry Olympic Flame High
On December 22 and 23, while most area residents were preparing for the
holiday, three people with ties to the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter
were lacing up their running shoes. Former Philadelphia resident
Valerie Valle Gelovich, who has MS, and City to Shore team captains Tom
Hambrose and Peter Merena were chosen to be torchbearers for the recent
Olympic procession through Philadelphia. Each was nominated and chosen to
carry the torch for embodying the timeless spirit of the Olympics, and
providing inspiration to the community. When she was diagnosed with MS
in 1991, Valerie couldn’t imagine that she would one day be a part of the
13,500 mile long procession to open the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City,
Utah. Her symptoms included loss of vision and vertigo, but she never let
her disability stop her from attaining her goals. Despite her symptoms, she
graduated with a BS in nursing from Thomas Jefferson Hospital, married, had
a daughter, and continued teaching dance to children with hearing
impairments and Downs Syndrome. Nominated by her mom, Kathy Valle, who is
head of the South Philadelphia MS support group, Valerie was picked as one
of 11,000 Americans to carry the torch to the Olympics.
Valerie is also the recipient of the Chevy Trailblazer Uncompromising
Strength Award. She will be one of the “strong and determined women” who
will receive accolades in the March issue of Redbook Magazine. “Attitude is
everything. There are a lot of things I want to do, and there are people who
need me. I plan to live the rest of my life to the fullest,” says Valerie.
Joining her in the distinguished role of torchbearer were Haddon Heights,
NJ, resident Tom Hambrose, and Harleysville, PA, resident Peter Merena.
Hambrose is the captain of the Royal Spinners, a team of over 100 cyclists
that raised more than $40,000 this year, and Merena is head of the 75-strong
Wyeth Wheelers-Wyeth Ayerst team.
“Valerie, Tom and Peter carried the torch for every American who has
multiple sclerosis, or knows someone with the disease. Hopefully, their
accomplishments will serve as a bright beacon of hope as the search for a
cure for MS continues,” says Chapter President Judith G. Cohen.
The torch has been traveling since December 4, where it began in Atlanta,
GA. The procession is traveling for 65 days through 46 states on its way to
the opening ceremonies at Rice Eccles Olympic Stadium in Salt Lake City,
Utah on February 8, 2002.
Back
to Home
Past News Bulletins
|
