Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 3-29-19

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2019
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Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas Is Guest During USF Lecture Series
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
When you see video of gold-win- ning Olympian Gabby Douglas ex- ecuting flips, spins, and other routines, it appears to be an effortless exercise.
But the truth is those movements were fine-tuned by years of four-and- six-hour practices with only two-hour breaks for rest, academic study, and lunch.
“It was very hard,” she said. “My community, family, close friends – they would tell me to do this. They would always have my back.”
That’s the level of commitment it took to be a member of the 2012 and 2016 U. S. women’s gymnastics teams.
But the road to the gold medal began in 2008, when Gabby saw fel- low artistic gymnast and gold medal- ist Shawn Johnson perform at the Beijing Olympics.
“I knew (then) I wanted to go to the Olympics,” she said.
On last Wednesday, Douglas shared her experiences both on and off the mat with an audience of hun- dreds at the University of South Florida’s Oval Theater at the Marshall Student Center. Douglas’s visit was part of the University Lecture Series.
Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas, right, was a guest at the University of South Florida last week for its Lecture Series. She’s on stage with Monica Lee Mi- randa, Director of the Center for Student Involvement at USF. (Photo by Kenya Woodard)
first African-American woman to win in the individual all-around event at the 2012 Olympics.
Six years later, Douglas said she’s still in awe of what she’s done.
“It means so much,” she said. “I don’t think I could really, fully grasp it at that age. For me, I was just doing what I loved.”
But with the high of winning gold medals came the lows in the form of cyberbullying. Critics attacked her physical appearance, especially her hair. Douglas said her young age mostly shielded her from the criticism in 2012.
The attacks against her at the 2016 games in London were difficult to ig- nore, but she combatted them by speaking out against cyberbullying.
“Unfortunately, you can’t end it because there are...people that want to hate,” she said. “I wanted to help someone. If I can help other people overcome this, then I’m all for it.”
Douglas credits her mother for being her biggest supporter and of- fered advice to other parents of bud- ding gymnasts.
“If your kid has a passion, support them,” she said. “That’s what my mother did. Just make sure your kid really wants it. And know when to step in and when to back off.”
Getting to the Olympics first would require the teenage Douglas to convince her mother to allow her to move away from her home in Virginia to Iowa to train with a renowned coach. To do that, Douglas said she reached out for support.
“I had to rally my two sisters be- hind me,” she said.
Winning her mother’s approval, however, would prove to be the easy part compared to overcoming self-
doubt and the naysayers. Douglas said she struggled for years with both until she was training for her first Olympic games.
“I didn’t believe in myself until 2012,” she said. “It took me a long time to make that choice. It’s really a choice, whether I’m going to believe in myself or believe the naysayers.”
Douglas chose herself and would go on to rack up a series of accom- plishments, including becoming the
HART Board Of Directors Select New CEO
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Recently, members of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority selected a new CEO. The decision was reached unanimously to ap- point Benjamin Limmer to serve in the position.
The Board of Directors authorized their general counsel to begin contract ne- gotiations with Limmer. Limmer currently serves as the Assistant GM for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). He also serves as the primary advisor to the Authority’s CEO on strategic initiatives, development of expansion and services plans, and mon-
Newly named HART CEO Benjamin Limmer, center, is shown with Mrs. Chloe Coney and HART Board member Marvin Knight.
itoring of the organization’s overall performance.
He also brings experience in leadership roles with the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., the City of Atlanta, Valley Metro, and the Regional Transit Au- thority, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Limmer has been recog- nized as one of Mass Transit magazines “40 Under 40.” He is a graduate of numerous leadership development pro- grams including Valley Lead- ership in Phoenix, Arizona, Leadership APTA through the American Public Trans- portation Association (APTA). He is also Chair of the APTA Environmental Justice/Title VI Committee.
Limmer is active in pro- fessional organizations rang- ing from the APTA, American Planning Associa-
tion, Council of Minority Transportation Officials, Transportation Research Board and the Women’s Transportation Seminar.
Limmer has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administra- tion from the University of Northern Iowa and a Mas- ter’s Degree in Urban Plan- ning, Design and Development from Cleveland State University.
Limmer replaces in- terim CEO Jeff Seward, who has served in the posi- tion for more than a year. Katharine Eagan, the for- mer CEO of HART, left to lead to serve as the head of the Port Authority of Al- legheny County Transit, in Pittsburgh.