I am writing this letter to express my disappointment in The Morning Star coverage of the Special Olympics. I noted there were only two photos of floor hockey and an article written after the event, that was in the newspaper. There were no photos of any of the other events, nor the Opening Ceremonies. I had the pleasure of attending the ceremonies and witnessed the excitement of the hundreds of athletes and the lighting of the torch. The procession included several RCMP members dressed in their red serge. It would have been wonderful to see some photos in the newspaper.
See: Vernon Special Olympic Winter Games a success
The Special Olympics was a large event for Vernon to host and required approximately 1,000 volunteers. Athletes travelled from all over B.C., the Yukon and even Alberta. These same athletes trained for a long period of time prior to participating and the commitment not only from them, but from their families, friends and coaches was immense. This event drew thousands of people to our community which would have contributed financially to hotels, restaurants, gas stations, retail businesses, etc. I noticed there was a lot of advertising in the paper prior to the event itself. I am sure some of the athletes and their family members would have looked at the paper afterwards to see if their name or photo was in it. Again, it was a letdown. I wrote this letter as I believe some of these athletes cannot advocate for themselves and they deserve it, even if the paper did not see fit to provide more coverage. I wish all of the athletes continued success. Shame on The Morning Star.
Dawn Mascotto
@VernonNews
letters@vernonmorningstar.com
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