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From the Oregon governor's office:
SALEM --March 11 Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski departed for Vancouver, B.C. with a delegation of 30 Oregon disabled veterans and their companions to the 2010 Paralympic Games as part of the "Get a Vet in the Game" initiative. This state initiative was developed to help inspire disabled veterans to overcome their injuries and compete at the highest levels of sport.
“Thousands of disabled veterans have fought their way back to health – and are accepting and meeting challenges that bring honor, meaning, and happiness to their lives,” said Governor Ted Kulongoski. “In the days ahead, we will watch some of the best athletes in the world – whose disabilities shrink to insignificance as they perform great athletic feats on the world stage.”
The delegation will participate in a number of events, including a unique "Three Nation Dinner" with veterans and officials from the United States, Canada and Great Britain, organized to honor the sacrifice of veterans and remember their fallen comrades, as well as celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Paralympics Games.
“For every ounce of courage you find in Olympic athletes – you find twice that in Paralympic athletes, and that’s why I wanted to bring a delegation of disabled veterans to the Paralympic Games” said the Governor. “This trip will inspire, entertain, build new friendships, and take home the message to the many wounded veterans who cannot be here today that even after great adversity – there is life, there is hope, there is change, there is triumph.”
The delegation will cheer on two Oregonians competing in the Games, Greg Mallory of Portland is competing in his second Paralympics in cross-country skiing and Carl Burnett of Bend is competing in his third Paralympics in Alpine skiing. The delegation will also attend the Torch Relay to support Oregonian torchbearer Luke Wilson, who lost a leg in Iraq. Wilson, of Hermiston, Oregon, first got on a snowboard in 2007 with a special prosthetic leg and now has hopes of competing as a snowboarder in the Paralympics Games in Sochi, Russia in 2014.
The “Get a Vet in the Game” effort has been underwritten entirely by private funding and sponsors include: Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Oregon War Veterans Association, Disabled American Vets, Chapter 1, CalBag Metals, High Impact Technologies, FLIR Systems, TriWest Health, Comcast, Portland Trailblazers, Oregon War Veterans Association, Adidas, Columbia Sportswear, TLine Graphics, Rogue Brewery, Operation Homefront, TransCanada, Challenged Athletes Foundation, EVenture Zone, Raz Transportation and the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region.
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event for athletes with physical and visual disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, following the Olympic Games, and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, making these Games the 50th anniversary.
From the Oregon governor's office:
