University of North Alabama - Diorama Yearbook (Florence, AL)

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,.i ' - - ' Wm ■ V -!. when she was given ski jumping K120 bronze medalist Matti Hautamaeki of Finland ' s medal flow- rs. Shortly thereafter, the gold edalist in the same event, Simon kmmann, smiling at Corum, ran into doorway. Aside from all the work and lonors, the group tried to get in as iTiuch sleep as possible. We worked the dress rehearsal or the opening ceremonies and did- K ' t get in till midnight. Then, we turned around and got up at three for A ork, said Hodges. Most of the ime, they were too tired to even go jet something to eat and ended up )rdering pizza. , Whatever you eat out there, [hey ask you if you want cheese on t, said Hodges. Corum ran into the problem of not being able to find her avorite — Dr. Pepper. All in all, the UNA contingent tad a good time. Corum got about a 50-second shot of herself in the Media vlixed Zone broadcast around the ption on NBC during the ski jump- ng event. They helped out with bob- led after ski jumping was finished md took pictures of the Women ' s lurling Gold Medal team from Great Britain. Winter 2002 was not Hodges ' irst time as Venue Press Chief. He erved in 1996 as the Venue Press Chief for volleyball at the Omni dur- ing the Centennial Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta. He has been work- ing with the Olympics through Festivals, Winter and Summer Games, since 1987. — Stacey Arnold 1 t ■ f k 1 r ' r. 1 ■.•■.■•• V--lk., ' ' . i pi As iiiiij|(. mill - - TARTY IN SALT LAKE. Hoy photo) Locals make glory on ice as thousands of volunteers took part in opening ceremonies. IT ' S SO C-O-O-O-L-D. (left) Opening Day of the Olympics was cancelled by 60-mph winds and two feet of snow in two hours. Shivering Corum wore everything she brought. STRUTTING HIS STUFF, (above) Finland ' s Matti Hautamaeki, who gave Corum the flowers from his medal ceremony. READY TO SERVE.( ' o;);)os ft ' page) Dee Corum and Jeff Hodges huddle at the spectator entrance to ski jumping grand stand. 19

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Teff Hodges landed in Utah to work a three-week stint for the Salt Lake City Winter Games as the - venue press chief for Ski Jumping at Olympic Park. Accompanying him on the journey out west were student intern Dee Corum and former faculty member Don MacBrayer. Together, the three managed the pre ss coverage for the ski jumping event and the subcenter for that area. The first week away from home was spent making sure everything was in order. The team had to check that everything was set up correctly and would run relatively smoothly. We would get up every morning at 3 a.m., leave around 4 a.m. and drive 45 minutes to Park City in order to work, said Hodges. He, MacBrayer, and Corum stayed in Draper, Utah, at a Ramada Limited. Security required them every morning to step out of their vehicle into the icy cold wind and be checked over with a hand-held metal detector. They would make you take off your jacket if it beeped, said Corum. Some mornings it was as cold as -5 degrees with a 60-mile-an-hour wind. After nearly freezing to death dur- ing security checks, the three would go on to work their section of the event. They set up the Mixed Zone so that ath- letes and press personalities could do what they needed to in order to get news stories out. The Mixed Zone was an area of about 200 feet along which reporters lined up. Athletes would come through and talk to reporters after competing. Everything seemed so normal, but then you go back and watch it on TV and realize that it was a big deal, said Hodges. All work anci no play can lead to a very dull time at the Olympics. But Corum had a bright, shining moment 18

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i espite the sweltering ■ J lheat of a July evening, . the community enjoyed a little night music, courtesy of the newly named Shoals Symphony at UNA. Under the baton of Dr. Daniel Hornstein, a relatively new associate professor of music, the symphony played such popular selections as Offenbach ' s Can- Can, a Gershwin medley, songs by Andrew Lloyd Weber and other familiar pieces. It [the concert] was impor- tant because we put ourselves on the map. There were a lot of peo- ple who didn ' t know that, one, there was an orchestra, and two, how good it was. It was also a huge financial ■D success. Mr. Bob Bottimore — I call I him an ' angel ' because he ' s given ■ us a number of scholarships — 5 underwrote the orchestra ' s expens- es, so we cleared more than a thou- % sand dollars, said Hornstein. £ The newly renamed sympho- ny is a town and gown organ: zation — with one foot planted i the community and the other i the university. It had been th community orchestra but ther was some interst in bringing : under the umbrella of the univei sity. 1 believe Dr. [Kaylene] Gebei was a major moving force in thi and President [Robert] Potts we behind it as well. Mr. Bottimon of course, was also in favor of it, Hornstein said. While UNA students wh can take it for academic cred make up about 40 percent of th orchestra, the symphony sti belongs to the larger Shoals con munity, with the advantage c having a separate board respons ble for fundraising and othe daily business. And thanks to the Bottimoi scholarships, Hornstein ha recruited four strong string majoi who are members of the orchesti this year. He feels they will nc only be a great addition to th symphony, but will eventuall