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FIGURE SKATER SARAH
HUGHES JOINS THE NEW YORK LOTTERY AND
THE GOODWILL GAMES TO HONOR LOCAL STUDENTS IN
STATE-WIDE WINTER ACHIEVERS ESSAY CONTEST
 New
York, NY, January 22, 2001
- Figure Skater and Great Neck, NY resident Sarah
Hughes, along with New York Lottery Director Margaret
R. DeFrancisco and Goodwill Games Marketing Manager
Bobby Mallett, honored five New York City winners
of the 2001 Winter Achievers essay contest today
at Chelsea Piers. Hughes
talks to the Winter Achievers about how sports has
impacted her life
Hughes, a 2001
Goodwill Games hopeful, won a silver medal at the
US Figure Skating Championships on January 20 in
Boston, MA. Hughes, 15, spoke to winners Kenneth
Elmes (Hudson Valley), Maria Wojakowski (Brooklyn),
Andrea Chronis (NYC), Lauren Titone and Andrew DiChiara
(Long Island) about how sports has positively impacted
her life.
 The
Winter Achievers program was launched in 1999 to
coincide with the Inaugural Goodwill Games, held
Feb. 17-20, in Lake Placid, New York. The program
was created through a partnership between the Goodwill
Games and the Lottery, in conjunction with the Empire
State Games and the Olympic Regional Development
Authority. The Winter Goodwill Games were the first
large-scale international athletic competition of
the new millennium. The Games helped solidify Lake
Placid's reputation as a world-class, Olympic-caliber
sports venue. Goodwill
Games hopeful Sarah Hughes skates with the 2001
Winter Achievers winners from NYC
"The Winter Achiever's
essay contest is a wonderful, unique initiative
that requires each student to use lessons learned
in the classroom to help explain to others the value
of his or her experiences on the sports field,"
said DeFrancisco.
The number
of essays submitted for this year's contest increased
substantially. The New York Lottery received close
to 4,000 entries for the 2001 Winter Achievers program,
nearly twice the number of essays in 2000.
McNerney says
the program, which reaches out to children in public
and parochial schools statewide, is at the core
of the message of the Goodwill Games.
"The Goodwill
Games value the life lessons that our children learn
through sport participation. The goal of our world-class
competition is to use the power of sports as a means
to bringing out the individual spirit in all our
kids," said McNerney.
 An
inter-agency review committee consisting of representatives
from the Goodwill Games, Lottery, Parks, the Olympic
Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and the Empire
State Games reviewed all entries and selected this
year's winning essays. The winners receive a personal
laptop computer and printer, a trip to the Empire
State Winter Games in Lake Placid, NY where they
will be recognized during opening ceremonies scheduled
for Feb. 23, 2001, as well as a commemorative sweat
suit, plaque and medal for his or her efforts. Each
Winter Achiever's school receives a computer package
from the New York Lottery.
NY State Lottery
Director Margaret DeFrancisco, Sarah Hughes and
Goodwill Games Marketing Manager Bobby Mallett
The 2001 Winter
Achievers' winners and their respective schools
are:
click here to view this years
winning essays...
- Andreas P. Chronis of New
York, NY / P.S. 79, Whitestone, NY
- Andrew J. DiChiara, Jr. of
Smithtown, NY / William T. Rogers Middle School,
Kings Park, NY
- Kenneth B. Elmes, Jr. of
Hopewell Junction, NY / Van Wyck Junior High School,
Wappingers Falls, NY
- Laura C. Hare of Buffalo,
NY / St. Amelia School, Tonawanda, NY
- Chad D. Morin of Auburn,
NY / East Middle School, Auburn, NY
- Kristina A. Nolte of Saratoga
Springs, NY / Maple Avenue Middle School, Saratoga
Springs, NY
- Benjamin P. Pomerance of
Plattsburgh, NY / Stafford Middle School, Plattsburgh,
NY
- Anna G. Suozzi of Pittsford,
NY / Pittsford Middle School, Pittsford, NY
- Lauren M. Titone of Smithtown,
NY / Great Hollow Middle School, Nesconset, NY
- Maria M. Wojakowski of Brooklyn,
NY / St. Anthony-St. Alphonsus, Brooklyn, NY
For more information, contact
the Lottery's Press and Community Relations office
at 518-388-3415 or email to p&cr@lottery.state.ny.
The Goodwill Games, to be held
August 29 - September 9, 2001, in Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia will feature 14 sports: athletics, basketball,
beach volleyball, boxing, cycling (track), diving,
figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics,
swimming, trampoline, triathlon, weightlifting and
surf lifesaving. The Goodwill Games were founded
by Time Warner Inc. Vice Chairman R.E. Turner in
1986 to ensure that the world's best athletes have
the opportunity to compete in world class competition.
The five previous Goodwill Games have alternated
between the United States and Russia; however, future
Games will be staged in countries around the world
in both winter and summer formats. In addition to
the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia,
plans are underway for the 2005 Winter Goodwill
Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. TNT is the host
network for both events. Nine Network Australia
will broadcast the 2001 Goodwill Games locally.
Goodwill Games, Inc. is a division of Turner Sports,
the sports programming and production business unit
of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
For information on the upcoming
2001 Goodwill Games or their youth programs please
call 404-827-4786 or e-mail to www.goodwillgames.com.
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