Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- SLOC Chief: Games Work Must Proceed Thursday, September 13, 2001 http://www.sltrib.com/2001/sep/09132001/utah/131927.htm BY MIKE GORRELL THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE It was not business as usual, but Olympic preparations resumed Wednesday. Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney sent an e-mail of encouragement to staff members, back in their offices after being allowed to go home and be with families in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attack. "Like you, I have been overwhelmed with emotion," Romney said from Washington, D.C., where he has been talking security with federal officials since Monday. "The horrific reality of the attack on civilization and the incomprehensible scale of human suffering have led each of us to our own form of prayer and mourning. Everything which is part of our everyday we rethink in terms of new priorities. Where does the Olympics fit?" The answer, he continued, is in affirming "the bond of humanity and of the triumph of civilization over barbarism." Given Tuesday's loss of life, Romney later told reporters it was not "in keeping with the sense of national mourning" for SLOC to hold scheduled celebratory functions, such as torch-relay announcements and the grand opening of the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. All were postponed indefinitely. A board meeting scheduled for today also was put off, primarily because of travel restrictions imposed after the hijackings, but SLOC is proceeding with plans for two volunteer training sessions Saturday at Cottonwood High School. Citing President Bush's admonition to show terrorists that American life goes on despite the carnage, Romney said "continuing preparations for the [2002 Winter] Games is consistent with that." Similar to sessions last spring, Saturday's meetings will give new volunteers a motivational overview of what to expect and what is expected of them. This round, however, "clearly will have a more somber setting, but one where the higher purpose of the Olympics is the keynote," Romney said. The SLOC boss conferred again Wednesday with International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, focusing partly on the possibility that sponsors might have lost employees in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Bank of America and Blue Cross and Blue Shield were two major tenants. In light of the suffering, Romney's e-mail reiterated to staff members that their work on the Olympics "means so much to our nation and to the world. In the annals of Olympism and in the history of Utah, this may stand as one of the defining hours. I am confident we will perform with honor." � Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
