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Show Davis County men court IOC By TOM HARALDSEN (Clipper Correspondent Sometime before noon today (Saturday), months of hard work, great expense and incredible expectations expec-tations could pay off when the International In-ternational Olympic Committee's decision about the 1998 Winter Olympic Games is announced in Birmingham, England. Regardless of that outcome, for four Davis County residents who had the opportunity of serving as escorts for visiting IOC Site Evaluation Evalua-tion Team members, the experience of courting the 1998 Games has been memorable. Kent Albrand, Dave Beecher, Joel McCausland and Kevin Peay were among the escorts who welcomed nearly 60 of the 92 IOC voting members visiting Utah since last December. Albrand was transportation coordinator for the evaluation team, members of which visited each of the prospective sites for the Games. A decision is expected ex-pected about lunch time today after a week of final presentations to IOC members in England. In an exclusive interview in the Clipper, Peay said he found each of the visiting IOC dignitaries "personable, professional, warm, sincere and not at all pretentious." He described them as "people just like you and mehusbands, fathers, grandparents. The thing I found most impressive was that just about every one of them were interested in my life and my family, and the things we do here." The Salt Lake Olympic Games Bid Committee, having secured the USOC endorsement for 1998, entered the courtship process in earnest when the first IOC visitors began arriving in December. Peay and McCausland joined the effort last January, escorting their guests in donated Cadillacs from Dollar Rent-A-Car and contracted for through a donation from Utah Power and Light Company. In fact, dozens of local businesses and companies have pooled their efforts to give each IOC visitor a taste of Utah during their three to four days stay in the Beehive State. As each IOC delegate and his or her spouse arrived, they were escorted to their hotel, then taken on an extensive visit around the Wasatch Wa-satch Front. Included in that itinerary were visits to the new Jazz arena (figure skating venue for the games), the Salt Palace Convention Center and Symphony Hall (proposed (pro-posed media centers), the State Capitol, Temple Square and the downtown are?, the University of Utah (site of the Olympic Village for athletes), and then up Interstate 80 to Mountain Dell (biathalon) and Bear Hollow (where a bobsled, luge and ski jump area is under construction). construc-tion). . , The tour continued into Park City, where Peay said guests were impressed with the quaint resortlike resort-like setting of Old Main Street. Park West (site of freestyle skiing) and the Park CityDeer Valley ski areas (Super G sites) were also visited. IOC members also toured Little Cottonwood Canyon, visiting Snowbird. Though no Olympic events are planned in the canyon, the local bid organizers wanted to give each member a taste of the close proximity of local resorts to the metropolis. "They were all very impressed with how close all of the venues are to Salt Lake City," Peay recalled. "They commented on how well organized the city was, how clean the streets were, and how the grid system of streets worked so well." Many were also interested in the state's history, and about Mor-monism. Mor-monism. A few visitors were able to hear the Tabernacle Choir perform during their stays in Salt Lake City. The weather also cooperated. April and May's rains may have been a pain for those of us living here, but they also . produced a "winter wonderland for at least 80 percent of the visitors," Peay said. In fact, Utah hardly had any periods of dry weather while IOC members toured, an important fact in the decision process. Now, the choice is up to those members who are gathered this morning in England. As it turns out, each candidate host city will have a final presentation before the vote, and Salt Lake City drew the last spot in that presentation, the most advantageous place to be. If all goes well, the bid could be Utah's by 12 or 12:30 this afternoon. Peay feels Salt Lake deserves the bid for two reasons-the tremendous amount of dedication which hundreds hun-dreds of volunteers have given to the cause already, and the close proximity and- convenience of the venues to the city. "We're set up incredibly well to host these Games," he said. "We have many of the facilities already in place. It's an eight minute ride by helicopter from any venue to the nearest hospital, and our sports health, medicine and fitness facilities rival any of our competitors. com-petitors. I really feel Salt Lake City is the best place the IOC could choose to hold these Olympics." If the voting members in England agree with that assessment, today could truly be a historic one for Salt Lake City, the state of Utah, and the future of winter sports along the Wasatch Front. |