A local dentist will be Owen Sound’s first 2010 Olympic Torchbearer.
Doctor Sharlene Kopec will carry the flame when the longest torch relay in Olympic history reaches the Scenic City on December 28th.
The announcement was made Tuesday at the Royal Bank on 2nd Avenue East.
Doctor Kopec was chosen by RBC – a presenting partner of the relay – for her pledge to better Canada by working to create a healthy environment.
In her application, Doctor Kopec pledged to reduce her carbon footprint by hanging up her clothes instead of using her dryer.
She says there are little things we can all do that will add to much bigger things.
Doctor Kopec says she is thrilled to have this unique, once in a lifetime opportunity.
She says she would love to go to Vancouver to take in the 2010 Winter Games, but says having the torch come through Owen Sound is a way to share in the Olympic spirit.
Details about Doctor Kopec’s exact route haven’t been released – she says all she knows is the torch is a bit heavy but looks great.
The torch will also pass through Durham, Hanover, Walkerton, Kincardine, Tiverton, Southampton, and Saugeen Shores on the 28th.
It will then make its way through Meaford and Thornbury on December 29th.
About 12-thousand Canadians in total will carry the flame 45-thousand kilometres through one thousand communities in 106 days.
It will arrive in Vancouver on February 12th for the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, which will signal the start of the Games.