VANCOUVER AQUARIUM TEAM PROUDLY PARTICIPATES IN 2010 OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY
20 Vancouver Aquarium members proudly bear the torch
Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Aquarium’s 2010 Olympic Torch Relay Team proudly took part in Saturday’s historic relay event in Duncan, BC.
A total of 20 Aquarium volunteers, staff and board members joined BC Premier Gordon Campbell at the Cowichan Aquatic Center in Duncan for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The Vancouver Aquarium Olympic Torchbearer Team was comprised of a diverse group of individuals representing a variety of professional and personal backgrounds. The team included 13 staff, 5 board members and 2 volunteers forming a manifold mosaic of ethnic heritage including Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, German, American and Canadian.
These proud torchbearers support the Aquarium in various ways through their daily responsibilities in such areas as animal husbandry, visitor experience and marine mammal rescue, along with volunteers who devote endless time and energy to assist the Aquarium in its mission to conserve aquatic life.
Thirteen staff members on the Aquarium’s Olympic Torch Relay Team were selected after previously each receiving more than five ‘Star Awards’. These awards represent an internal recognition program for Aquarium staff that have exceeded expectations and delivered outstanding results in their daily duties. The two volunteers on the relay team were selected for their strong leadership abilities - they represent both youth and adult volunteers.
Lindsaye Akhurst, Coordinator, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue (VAMMR), originates from Duncan and was a member of the torch relay team. She is a proud graduate of Cowichan Senior Secondary and was thrilled to carry the torch in her hometown.
“I feel like I’m the luckiest member of the Vancouver Aquarium Olympic Torchbearer Team because I am from Duncan. Not many people get to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay let alone carry the torch right in their hometown!”
Akhurst’s daily duties involve rescuing and rehabilitating marine mammals in distress ranging from seals to porpoises.
Local relay supporters enthusiastically showed their pride in having the Olympic torch pass through Duncan by cheering and honking car horns. Another member of the Aquarium’s relay team, Kodiak Woods, was even asked by some supporters to sign an autograph!
The Aquarium Olympic Torchbearer Team members exchanged flames every 50 metres along the total distance of 300 metres, sharing their unforgettable experience with families and friends who were also there to be a part of this historic event in British Columbia.
About the Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium is a global leader in connecting people to our natural world, and a self-supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, conservation practices, education, research, and direct action. Learn more at www.vanaqua.org
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Media Contacts:
Kent Hurl
Public Relations Supervisor
604.659.3752
kent.hurl@vanaqua.org
Helen Lee
Public Relations Coordinator
604.659.3775
helen.lee@vanaqua.org