Stay tuned for more inspiration

Like most of us, I soaked up a lot of 2010 Winter Olympics coverage over the past few weeks. This land is our brand!

It was all very entertaining. Unexpectedly, there were several profoundly inspirational moments, the kind of stuff that confirms individual excellence beyond the physical realm. The Joannie Rochette story, the story about Alexandre Bilodeau and his brother, are the obvious shared moments of triumph over adversity.

Bilodeau, 22, skiing under massive pressure, scooping up Canada's first Olympic gold at a home in the men's freestyle moguls. Two jumps - a double twisting back flip and a back flip with an iron cross. His inspiration? Not a hotshot skier, but older brother Frederic, living with cerebral palsy.

And then there was Rochette, 24, skating to the music from Samson and Delilah, winning bronze just days following the death of her mother Therese, who arrived from Montreal and died unexpectedly in a Vancouver hospital, before she could see her daughter on the podium.

As part of the Olympian deluge of coverage, one enterprising reporter followed up on one of those “whatever happened to…” stories. Remember Sam Sullivan, the Vancouver mayor who received the Olympic flag in Turin all this years ago? Sam was paralyzed after he broke his neck in a skiing accident at the age of 19. The image of a quadraplegic mayor of a major city proudly waving the iconic flag inspired many about what exactly is possible in life.

Sullivan’s political fortunes left him mostly out of the limelight in the past few weeks, but there he was on TV, being asked about his perspective on how things were playing out for the host city and what he was up to.

One quote from that interview stuck in my head. Sullivan said, "With a little bit of goodwill and a community that is inclusive you can do anything that you want."

Sounds a lot like United Way of the Lower Mainland’s vision and mission.

On February 25, 2010, Sam Sullivan was announced Canada’s ambassador for the 2010 Winter Paralympics, to be held in Vancouver and Whistler, between March 12 and March 21, 2010.

Stay tuned for more inspiration.

- Michael B.