The Olympics were more than a celebration of athletics. The spectacle also provided a chance to witness the extraordinary feats of ordinary people.
Shirley Brooks-Jones, a retired Ohio State staff member, was featured in a televised story on NBC during the Games, which concluded Sunday.
The story was originally slated to air during the closing ceremonies.
However, the nearly two-hour segment ran at 4:40 p.m. Saturday to replace delayed sporting events, said Martha Filipic, technical editor for OSU’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Brooks-Jones’ story began on Sept. 11, 2001, when, after attending a meeting in Denmark, she boarded a plane to return to the United States. Her plane was diverted to Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada. A total of 38 planes carrying around 7,000 passengers were rerouted to Gander, Brooks-Jones told The Athens Messenger.
A half-hour outside of Gander, the almost 4,000-person community of Lewisporte welcomed many of the passengers, providing them with food and shelter during their extended layover.
Brooks-Jones, who was an assistant to the vice president of OSU’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said in an interview with Cabot Rea, “They had very little in terms of monetary things. But, boy, they had the biggest hearts, and they wouldn’t let anyone pay for anything.”
Overwhelmed by Lewisporte’s generosity, Brooks-Jones voiced her desire to repay them somehow on her return flight back to the U.S. on Sept. 14. A man on the plane suggested a college scholarship, but she wanted something more.
Brooks-Jones decided to create an endowed scholarship fund, which she set up through the Columbus Foundation. She collected more than $15,000 in pledges from fellow passengers on Sept. 14, and with the help of later donations the fund has grown to nearly $1 million.
She has presented 111 scholarships to individuals in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
“We don’t want them to ever forget how grateful we were for helping us in our hour of need,” Brooks-Jones said in an interview with Filipic.
In 2007, Brooks-Jones was the first American to be inducted into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, the highest honor in the province.
