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Jessica Smith competes in the ladies 444 meter time trial during the U.S. Olympic Short Track Trials at the Utah Olympic Oval. (File photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
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When Melvindale’s Jessica Smith qualified for the Sochi Olympic games in
early January, it was the culmination of a lifetime of hard work and
determination.
It wasn’t just her own goal that was achieved that day though, it was a
lifelong dream for her family as well.
Her parents, Rick and Reina Smith, were both skaters in their own right,
competing as high as the national level before marrying and starting their
family.
Smith, 30, started roller skating when she was just 9 months old and was
competing by the time she was 2.
An Olympic medal was always her dream, but her first sport, inline skating,
has never been added to the list of sports for either the summer or winter
games. She finally made the switch to ice skating in 2008, but fell just short
of her first attempt at the Olympics. She was an alternate for the 2010 games in
Vancouver.
Her family has been with her the entire time she’s competed, which isn’t
always easy on the salaries of a truck driver and a barber. Regardless, from the
second that Jessica officially qualified for the games, her parents and brother,
Travis, knew that they had to find a way to get to Sochi.
They already had booked a room and airfare in advance, but then the reality
of finding a way to pay for it set in. The trip is expected to cost in excess of
$40,000 for the three of them.
Yes, you read that right: $40,000.
The Smiths were prepared to work as much overtime as they could, and take out
a second mortgage if need be so that they could be with Jessica as all of their
dreams came true.
That’s when something magical happened — friends, family and perfect
strangers stepped up to help. City Hall started selling yard signs. The American
Legion hosted a spaghetti dinner. The municipal ice rink held a fundraiser.
Cabrini High School, where Jessica graduated from, donated money as did the
company that Rick works for.
All of that was great, but the Smiths were still several thousand short of
the expected target.
The donations kept pouring in though, not just from friends and family or
even co-workers, but from perfect strangers. Several people reached out to me
asking how they could donate, and even more found ways to give to the family in
many ways.
Businesses in the city sold “I support Jessica” signs and perfect strangers
set up online stores to sell their wares with donations going to the family. It
was wonderful to watch as the community — and even those outside of the
community — got together and helped Jessica’s family be able to share the moment
and the memories of the next three weeks.
By the time this column is printed in the newspaper, the Smiths will have
already been in Sochi for a couple of days. Short track speed skating events
start Monday. The full schedule of events is available at
nbcolympics.com/sport/speed-skating
Better yet, if all goes according to plan, we’ll be bringing you daily
messages from the Smiths on our website. Hopefully, they’ll be sending us video
and text updates throughout their stay. The web address to see those updates is
Downriverolympics.blogspot.com/
Well, we hope we can offer that. But with all the news we’re hearing out of
Sochi — sketchy Internet access, hacked phones and computers, not to mention
unfinished hotel rooms — let’s just say we’re keeping our fingers crossed. On
Thursday, they let us know they were safely in Sochi, but said the Internet
connection was very unstable.
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