The Champaign Park District invites the community to celebrate the 25th year of the Tribute to Olympic and Paralympic Athletes monument on Saturday, Oct. 1, at noon at Dodds Park.
The monument commemorates athletes listed on the Olympic or Paralympic team roster, or who participated in an Olympic or Paralympic demonstration or exhibition sport, who designated a community in Champaign County as their hometown. The Champaign Park District is honored to induct five athletes during this event.
The 2016 inductees include local Paralympians Joshua George (track and field), Tatyana McFadden (track and field), Amanda McGrory (track and field), Nichole Millage (sitting volleyball) and Brian Siemann (track and field). During the induction, athletes will speak about their experiences. Attendees will also hear from the monument’s architect, Jeffery S. Poss, a professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“We are lucky to have such dedicated athletes and role models residing in Champaign County, and we are honored to have the opportunity to acknowledge them through the Tribute,” said Joe DeLuce, the executive director of the park district.
The monument is conceived as a strong geometric counterpoint to its naturalistic setting. It is embedded in and grows out of the soil of its place, a symbolic reminder of the Olympians’ bond with the community that honors them.
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