Expecting a nice, quiet evening of awards and short speeches, I was completely overwhelmed when I looked at the program at my place setting that listed Jeffrey Powers, American silver-medal Olympian, as the evening’s speaker. My eyes bugged out of my head when I looked across my table and realized that he was sitting right in front of me. Over the years, I have met politicians and television and movie stars, as well as some amazing musicians and entertainers; last Saturday night they all paled in comparison when I had dinner with an actual Olympic silver medalist.
Me with silver medal Olympian Jeffrey Powers
“When you go to college, stay involved, it keeps you grounded and keeps you anchored.”
“I sacrificed nothing. It was something I wanted to do— I worked [swam] eight to 10 hours a day.”
Now that he is a coach, Jeffrey said that defining team goals, encouraging socializing and recognizing good work are very important.
“Lead by example.”
“You’ve got to love it ! build trust with teamwork, communicate, show commitment and be adaptive.”
After his speech, Jeffrey posed for pictures, often putting his ribboned medal around the necks of those standing with him. I too had my picture taken with him. It was a thrilling experience.
To share details about the Winter Olympic Games that start today in Pyeongchang, South Korea, we have created a centerfold pull-out section to guide our readers through the events that will be happening today to Feb. 25. We hope you find it educational and helpful.
