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Ribbon Up
KTRT Olympic campaign
story and photo by Rose Weagant
Don Ashford woke up and had an idea.
He wanted to start a grassroots outreach to our athletes in Sochi.
Then he got busy.
Beginning Thursday, Don Ashford started contacting people to get them on board with a ribbon campaign. “Tie One On For Sochi” is the new campaign where Ashford hopes that everyone will tie blue and gold ribbons around their antennae, trees or dogs to show their support for our local heroes. He began creating radio promotions to get his ribbon campaign out into the valley.
Don has always been a huge fan of the Olympic games. He remembers reading and rereading books about Olympic athletes like Toni Sailer and Bonnie Blair.
“They were the real heroes,” said Ashford. “They were like Paul Bunyan and John Henry to me.”
Ashford has watched the Methow Valley Nordic team since its inception. “My kids were on the team the first year.”
When Ashford met the Nordic coaches, past Olympians Laura McCabe and Leslie Hall, he was impressed with their commitment. Don said Hall and McCabe “really showed the kids what they needed to do to get to the Olympic international level.”
And now that the Olympic legends are local, he wants to let them know the Methow cares.
Sadie Bjornsen, 24, was named to the Cross-country and Nordic Combined US Olympic team earlier in the month. Yesterday morning, the American Olympic Team announced the names of athletes chosen to compete in the Winter Games, which begin February 7. Sadie's brother, Erik, and Brian Gregg were also named to the team. Out of 14 athletes, three are from the Methow, making them the highest concentration of skiers from one area.
The “Tie One On For Sochi” ribbon campaign wants Methow locals to sport a little blue and gold ribbon in honor of athletes who have come from the Methow Olympic Development Foundation, a branch of the Methow Valley Nordic Ski Education Foundation.
1/23/2014
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