Moose FM CFBK 105.5 - Huntsville

John Cowan had an important part in bringing the Olympic Torch to the Town of Huntsville. John is a Physical Education teacher at Huntsville High. In addition to being the former Sport Council Chair for the Town and a national advocate for local sport leadership, John was able to facilitate a group of Huntsville High students called the Huntsville Activators and guide them in pushing for an Olympic Torch stop here in Huntsville. He says the students went out to local feeder schools and had elementary students campaign through letters and post cards to bring a stop on the Torch Run. John really gives credit to the youth of HHS who spearheaded bringing the Torch to Huntsville and adds Huntsville was one of the only communities whose youth led the charge in bringing the torch. To this day, the post cards and letters from local students still hang in the Vancouver Olympic Head Offices. John continues to encourage youth to participate in sport. He says sports prepare youth for real world experiences by teaching teammanship and goal setting.

The Huntsville Activators : HHS Students
Sophie Lovell
Jon Percival
John Lapp
Jessica Baumhour
Gillian Schmidt
Carly Litchfield
Scott Litchfield
Aaron Chapman
Landon Stachiw
Kaitlyn Dafoe
and Natalie Connell

Veronica Medon was born and raised in Huntsville. She began competitively swimming when she was only eight-years old for the Muskoka Aquatic Club. Veronica is one of the Country’s rising swimmers, competing in the Olympic trials at the age of 17. She also hopes to compete in the Olympic Trials in 2012 and make it to the 2012 Olympics in London, England. Currently she attends the University of North Dakota on an athletic scholarship and swims for the Fighting Sioux. She trains in the pool eight times a week and hits the weights for five sessions a week. Veronica’s first competitive swim will be on October 9^th for her schools Green/White meet. Veronica’s Advice to young athletes? She says you’ve got to love what you’re doing and although you may have to give up a big part of your social life, it all pays off in the end.

Keep up with how Veronica is doing at http://www.fightingsioux.com/HomePage.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&KEY=

Dan was born and raised in Port Sydney. He says he used to write in his journal in kindergarten about wanting to be an Olympic Bicycle Racer after watching Olympian Curt Harnett on television. Dan also had the opportunity to hold the Olympic Torch when it passed through Calgary during the 1988 Winter Olympics. Dan joined the Cross Country Ski team at Huntsville High School and since has been a full time cross country skier, even racing for the Arrowhead Nordic Ski Club. In 2003, Dan remembers where he was and how his life changed when the Vancouver Olympics were announced from Prague in the Czech Republic . He says he couldn’t believe how much his life would change in the next six years while he trained and moved across Canada to prepare for the home-hill advantage. But Dan has not only been training for a homecoming in Vancouver. The 31-year old was also part of the Canadian Men’s Cross Country team in Torino for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Dan says he is very excited for the Town of Huntsville to be a stop on the Torch Relay. He hopes the Torch can affect someone in Huntsville as much as it has affected him. Dan will attend Olympic trials and find out if he will be a two-time Olympian on December 22nd.