2002 Ad

Ft. Meade, Md.--The phone rings and Maj. Donna Garnett, an Army Reservist and the Budget Officer for the 311th Theater Signal Command here, turns to grab it. An incoherent voice screams from the other end, "They selected us!"

Garnett didn't understand the message but knew it was Lisa Goldman, a student in a fitness class called The Sergeant's Program, based in Rockville, Md., where Garnett is an instructor.

After Goldman calmed down, she explained that she had nominated both Garnett and herself for the 2002 Olympic Torch Run. She told Garnett she had just received the confirmation letter explaining her acceptance as a runner and was calling to see if Garnett had received it as well.

After a little investigation, Garnett discovered she too had been selected to run. "They decided to select us as a pair. She and I both were given the opportunity to participate," Garnett said with a big smile on her face.

"We were notified in July or August that we had been selected and asked to respond if we wanted to participate. Three weeks later, they sent us uniforms and instructions," she explained.

Garnett and Goldman were selected as part of the Greater D.C. Group. Garnett's leg of the run was held on December 21, 2001 and went from 13th St., NW into Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Ave., just east of the White House. There, she would hand off the torch to Goldman who would then carry it towards the White House.

Garnett received the course layout three weeks before the actual run. She wasn't worried about it though. "The route is only like one-fifth of a mile, three or four hundred yards," she explained as a little smile crossed her face. "I don't know the time limit.. .you can run, you can walk."

"Everyone was very excited for me," she said, "and very thrilled and probably as flabbergasted as I was. 'You're going to do that?' was the reaction I got," explained Garnett.

The runners were carried on a bus or van in front of the procession. As they approached their pre-selected starting points, they would get out and receive their torch and wait for the flame. They would then turn and receive the flame from the runner behind them.

"As I got off the bus and was handed my torch, several of my friends were there, some of my clients, and they were all yelling and screaming, 'Donna, Donna!'. My parents live in the Midwest, and they were not able to come, but they were rooting for me."

Garnett knew she was lucky because, not only had she been nominated, she was actually selected to run. Knowing the process and the odds of being chosen, gives many people with the thought, "There's no chance, no snowball I can get that or someone that I know, someone that I nominated, could," explained Garnett. "I would definitely encourage people to do it. You could be as lucky as I was," she said with a gleam in her eye.

When asked if she would run again, Garnett explained, "I would definitely run again...it was weird I wasn't nervous, I was just excited beyond belief. It was the most exciting thing I can remember doing."

Spc. Katz is a Public Affairs Specialist with the 311th Theater Signal Command, Fort Meade, Md.

COPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Army Reserve
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group