ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608050082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
ROANOKE-AREA RESIDENTS have discovered an international experience working at the Olympics in Atlanta.
Virginians who have been filling much-needed roles at the Olympic Games, from athlete security to food service, agree the games have been fun, despite repeated threats and the bombing.
Meeting people from other countries has been the best part, they said.
Bryon Thompson, a deputy federal marshal from Roanoke, has been riding the buses to the Olympic Village and game venues with the teams, "for extra security."
Thompson has been staying at the Quality Hotel in Atlanta, just a few blocks from where a bomb exploded in Centennial Park July27.
"The explosion was muffled to the point where you couldn't tell what it was. [Before the explosion] you could hear the bass and music from the bands," Thompson said. "The first thing that crossed my mind was that a transformer blew up."
"I was sad and surprised when I found out it was a bomb; well, maybe not surprised, there were threats every day. It was just a matter of time," he said. "I hate that we got a bloody nose. Hopefully, that will be the only situation, and we can finish up with no one else getting hurt."
"Overall, it's been an uplifting experience," Thompson said.
Other than the bombing, Thompson said his job has run smoothly and he hasn't had any real problems with language barriers.
Thompson said he was able to meet some of the Dream Team basketball players and watch them play Croatia. He also saw the U.S. field hockey team (whose coach, Jeff Woods, is from Radford) and the U.S. and Cuban baseball teams.
Lt. Steve Wills, an internal affairs officer with the Roanoke police, has been working security at the International Broadcasting Center since July5.
"We supervise the access doors to the venue, much like you see at airports with X-rays, ID cards and metal detectors," Wills said. "Most of the medal winners and VIPs come through the gates we supervise."
Wills said the most exciting part of the Olympics for him was attending the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony. "It was beautiful ... a combination of Christmas and the Fourth of July."
Wills said he also has enjoyed meeting people and talking to other law enforcement officers from around the world, comparing notes on how they do their jobs.
In another aspect of the games, Tom Blue, an attorney for the Social Security Administration office of hearings and appeals in Roanoke, has been serving as a volunteer volleyball referee.
Blue has been a volleyball referee for 30 years and an internationally certified referee for nine years.
"This is my first Olympics, and it certainly has been an eye-opener," he said. "The logistics of participating in this event are really incredible."
Working a two-hour match requires a commitment of six to eight hours. The process of moving people to an event, assuring there is enough time to prepare and conduct the event, and moving them back to quarters is very involved, Blue said.
"Of course the events themselves are incredibly exciting, but the preparation required is really immense," he said. "I am very impressed that the organizers are doing as well as they are."
"There may have been some complaints about the transportation logistics going around, but I think that [the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games'] work, primarily with volunteers, has been pretty good."
Two McDonald's restaurant workers from Rocky Mount were recruited to work at the Olympics.
Virginia Dillon and Donny Smawley won a contest and spent two weeks in Atlanta working in the Olympic Village, where there are five McDonald's restaurants, and returned to Virginia last week.
"We saw a lot of athletes, but I'm not really sure who they were. Mostly they were from other countries," Smawley said. "Bill Clinton came in, and I also got an autograph from Vlade Divac," a Yugoslavian basketball player who also plays for the Charlotte Hornets.
Dillon and Smawley stayed in the ITC Center complex with workers from England, Scotland, the Bahamas, Norway and Denmark.
Smawley's Olympic highlight has been "meeting so many people from other places, talking to them and working side by side. You never get to work with people from places like England or the Bahamas; we became pretty good friends, even if it was only for a couple of weeks."
Volunteers Tamara and Daynor Stinson of Roanoke were recently featured in The Roanoke Times Neighbors section for their work at the Olympics.
Tamara has spent her time at the Georgia Dome, where gymnastics and basketball are held. Daynor has worked as a course marshal in the road cycling races in Atlanta and at the mountain bike event held at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB