Nursing Faculty Member Carries the Olympic Torch

Monument, Colorado, a tiny town of 5 thousand people will be crackling with excitement today, Thursday, January 31 when Dr. Ginny Keatley, pediatric faculty member of the UTC School of Nursing runs a leg of the Olympic Torch relay toward its final destination, the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

While continuing to teach a class on the UTC campus twice monthly, Keatley is a visiting professor for one year in the Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Keatley, 56 years old, a mother of two and a grandmother, was nominated by her husband. The Olympic Committee bestowed the honor for Keatley’s many years of service to her profession, her after-hours service as a nursing faculty mentor and the help she has provided for many special needs children at the Signal Centers in Chattanooga.

Thrilled with the opportunity to play a special role in the torch relay, Keatley has a unique perspective on her mission.

"I grew up before women had a chance to do much in athletics. I am running for all those women who may not have had the chance to explore what they could achieve in sports," Keatley said.

Keatley will run two-tenths of a mile carrying the Olympic torch, and reporters, fire trucks, festivities and fans will surround her as she accomplishes her proudest athletic moment.