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  Jennifer
Wardlow of Forsyth County is on a first name basis with actress Vanessa
Williams! Wardlow was part of a contingent of Special Olympics athletes
and executives that attended the Washington, DC premier of the movie,
My Brother, which focuses on the relationship between two brothers, one
with intellectual disabilities.
At a reception prior to the premier, Wardlow and Williams casually approached
each other as friends do and greeted each other by name.
"We're old friends," Wardlow laughed. "It made me feel
good to know that she remembered me and my name. We chatted for awhile
but then her publicist and other folks had to keep her moving along but
I did sit right behind her during the movie."
Wardlow and Williams met two years ago in Nagano, Japan at the Special
Olympics World Winter Games. Wardlow's personality is so engaging and
upbeat, it's not surprising that Williams knew her right away!. When the
movie was over, Wardlow was one of the first people Williams asked for
her thoughts.
"It was a powerful and positive movie," said Wardlow. "I
teared up. It really hammered home the need to take care of each other
whether someone has intellectual disabilities or not. Keep family ties
together."
The movie's premise of caring for each other was the perfect summation
of her trip to DC. During the day, Wardlow accompanied by Keith Fishburne,
Special Olympics North Carolina president/CEO visited with the Senators
and Congressman from North Carolina to encourage them to endorse the $15
million Special Olympics Sports Empowerment Act for the coming year. Wardlow's
message to the law makers was to take care of the population of people
with intellectual disabilities in our state and support Special Olympics
efforts. She shared powerful, personal stories of how Special Olympics
has impacted her life. She had both Senator Elizabeth Dole and Senator
Jim Burr engrossed in her stories.
The highlight of the day for Wardlow was getting to sit in on an ambassador
selection hearing at the invitation of Sen. Burr. Presidential candidate,
Illinois Senator Barak Obama was chairing the hearing and the entire process
fascinated Wardlow. The hearing was to confirm President Bush's nomination
of Dave Phillips as ambassador to Estonia. Phillips is from High Point
and the former Chairman of the Board of the 1999 Special Olympics World
Summer Games held in North Carolina. All in all, she felt the trip was
a great success and full of great memories!
Thank you Jennifer for all the work you have done to ensure our government
officials know the importance of Special Olympics and how their vote for
funding can help the organization continue to help athletes realize their
dreams.
Nominate an athlete to be featured in an Athlete Spotlight.
Contact Megan O'Donnell, at 1-800-843-6276, ext. 106. Click here
for past Spotlights.
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