John Furlong: Olympic Possibilities Endless

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

Mayor Colin Kinsley and 2010 Olympic Organizing Chair, John Furlong at luncheon

Prince George, B.C. -  More than 200 people turned out to a luncheon hosted by the Prince George Spirit of B.C. Committee at the Civic Centre this afternoon to hear the keynote address from John Furlong.

The head of the 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee did his best to convince the crowd of the endless possibilities for the entire country in light of the upcoming Winter Games in Vancouver.

Furlong points to the Northern Sports Centre, as one such benefit that’s already been realized in the run up to the Games.  He toured the $31-million dollar facility this morning and says it "took his breath away" and should go a long ways towards leveraging Prince George efforts to attract athletes to train in the region prior to the Olympics.

Furlong also credits the local Spirit of B.C. Committee with making the most of the opportunities available. 

"I deal with all the committees and they’re all good, this one is particularly good -- they’re very focused, they’re learning all the time, they’re thinking about Beijing and if there’s something there that they can leverage." 

(Furlong speaking with some of those in attendance after the luncheon)

He says, "For a community that’s located 500-miles away from the epicentre of the Games, you would think the epicentre is much closer because the activity level is so high."

But he says "While all of that is important, and, you’ll see as you go forward, there will be all kinds of events that will come here -- the real win, here, is the young people of the community have found themselves a venue that’s going to  make their lives better and that’s huge."

As was the case this morning, the Olympic mascots rounded out Furlong’s visit

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