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Show your spirit Campbell River

“I am very proud of what Campbell River did,” said Michelle Babchuk, chair of the Olympic Torch Relay organizing committee.
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“I am very proud of what Campbell River did,” said Michelle Babchuk, chair of the Olympic Torch Relay organizing committee.

There were nearly 500 volunteers involved in the torch relay and it was all encapsulated with a huge celebration in the Tyee Plaza. Hundreds of people participated, most of whom waved their Olympic flame candles. In fact, many of the people participating in the evening celebration to welcome the Olympic Flame were volunteers themselves or people who took part in one or more of the welcome the flame activities – a testament to the numbers of volunteers involved and to how strong the community felt about the event.

“There was so much happening in the community, there was so much ownership,” Babchuk said.

People from all walks of life pitched in to make the event a testament to this community’s spirit, said Brenda Paul, event director of volunteers.

“Volunteers came from everywhere,” Paul said. “From young kids, the youth to working families to retired people...”

In fact, that was a goal of the committee.

“That was one of the things we set out to do,” Babchuk said. “Incorporate as many people in the community as we could.”

Volunteers and support came from individuals, groups and corporations and the result was an event that engaged the community like few other events have. And it is that spirit that Babchuk and Paul hope will be the legacy of the Olympic Torch Relay.