ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606210026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Kevin Cropper says he inherited his volunteer spirit.
"My Dad was a Boy Scout leader, my Mom was a den mother and a Girl Scout leader," he said. "I guess I came by it genetically."
Cropper, 22, will be honored today for his years of community service as he runs the Olympic torch one-half mile through Charlottesville.
The Virginia Tech student will join 142 other Virginians to carry the torch on a 22-city route through the commonwealth.
"We're all very much surprised he was selected," said his father and nominator, Dennis. "You just don't expect someone you know to be honored like that."
The elder Cropper wrote a 100-word essay about his son for the Community Hero program, sponsored by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and United Way affiliates across the county.
The Olympic Torch Relay - which started in Los Angeles two months ago and ends July 19 at the opening of the Atlanta games - is bringing the flame within a two-hour drive of 90 percent of the U.S. population.
Torch bearers were selected based on their significant contributions through volunteer work and community leadership, acts of generosity and extraordinary accomplishments.
Kevin Cropper was too humble to call himself a community hero, but he has had a good time telling people of his few moments of fame.
"Everybody's reaction has been so positive, like 'This is so cool!'" he said during a telephone interview from New Jersey. In order to run with the torch, he drove down Thursday from his job as a YMCA summer camp counselor.
While a Radford High School student, Kevin Cropper earned the rank of Eagle Scout and volunteered often with his church and school.
Once he came to Tech, Cropper started giving about four hours each week for the RAFT Community Crisis Center hot line.
Even after four years, he said he still enjoys being there to stop the crying.
"I love that feeling, just before they hang up when you can hear the smile on their face," he said.
Cropper, a computer science major, starts his fifth and final year at Tech this fall. He's spent time away from Blacksburg, working in Washington, D.C., through the co-op education program. He also spent the spring semester this year at Virginia Tech's campus in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland.
This evening, his entire family plans to videotape the half-mile whiz through downtown Charlottesville. They'd better focus quick; according to the official schedule, his run will last from 6:03 to 6:06 p.m.
Though he's been running since high school, Cropper said he is a bit nervous about carrying the revered flame.
"I did dream about it, that it was so big I couldn't carry it," he said. "I just lugged it behind me with both arms wrapped around it."
Much to his relief, Cropper said the torch actually weighs 3 1/2 pounds.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB