Letter: Why Vail for Mikaela Shiffrin’s celebration?
Why was the celebration for our local hometown hero held where the majority of Eagle County full year-round residents don’t actually live?
I would’ve loved to be part of the celebration of Mikaela Shiffrin’s amazing accomplishments at such a young age. Like all the other locals in this valley, I have followed her races, watched her on TV and at awards ceremonies, seen her do the local ALS challenge years ago, and finally have a chance to congratulate her in Eagle County.
But, since the majority of true locals who live and work and attend school and social events and live their lives at least six months a year in Eagle County don’t live within 10 miles of Vail — why was our local celebration not being held locally?
I could think of the EagleVail Pavillion, Freedom Park and the Edwards Field House, Nottingham Park in Avon that can hold our July 3rd celebrations … not to mention vast expanses of areas in Eagle and Gypsum, or even the Eagle County Fairgrounds.
So I must ask — why Vail? The local metro districts and cities are listed in conjunction with … and even Mikaela and her family live in Edwards.
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Can someone please explain why Vail Resorts will get to use this as a PR feather in its cap when this celebration should be showcasing one of our real hometowns for this celebration of our locally raised ski-racing celebrity?
And, why was it held at 4 p.m. when lots of locals are still on the clock because we have to work for a living? It stays light well past 6 p.m. now. Wouldn’t 6 p.m. have made more sense? And Battle Mountain has a loudspeaker system that easily reaches The Reserve — so couldn’t we all gather there and make it truly local?
Having lived here for 29 years — is that asking too much?
Lynn Green-Bennett
Edwards
