Fundraiser aims to send Olympian's family to Beijing

The Yuma community is doing its best to make sure Jacquelyn Johnson has a few familiar faces in the crowd when she begins her Olympic dream in Beijing.

Bobby's Territorial Harley-Davidson is putting on The Jackie Johnson Event, Saturday at the dealership as a way for the public to show support for the 2003 Yuma High graduate and to raise funds so her mother, twin brother and sister can make the trip to China to watch her compete.

The event will be going on all day, with the high point beginning at 4 p.m. and lasting until 8 p.m. There will be food and music, and Johnson will make an appearance from about 6 p.m. to 7:30, to greet fans and sign autographs.

"I'm very excited," Johnson said in a telephone interview from Utah, where she spent last week training. "It's a great thing to have so much support because it keeps you motivated."

The cost to send a family member to the Olympics in Beijing is roughly $4,000 to $5,000 per person. The Sun had received $3,325 in donations from the community as of Thursday.

Marty LaBelle, operations manager for Bobby's Territorial Harley-Davidson, said about 3,000 people are expected to turn out for the event.

"For us, it's not about a sale, it's about Jackie this one day," LaBelle said. "Harley-Davidson is an American icon and this whole thing is American ... We just want her to see that the whole city of Yuma is behind her."

Johnson became the first Yuma native to qualify for the Olympics when she placed second at the U.S. track and field trials June 28 in Eugene, Ore. She's one of the most decorated female collegiate athletes in history, with seven NCAA titles to her credit, and the 14 state championships she won while at Yuma High is the most in Arizona high school history.

The winner of the heptathlon, which consists of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash, 800, long jump and javelin throw, has traditionally been dubbed "the world's greatest female athlete."

"This is a big shot in the arm for Yuma. It gives us something to talk about and it gives us a reason to get together," LaBelle said. "I remember as a kid sitting and watching the Olympics with my folks, it was a family thing. This is an opportunity for families to gather around the TV and cheer for the girl from Yuma."

LaBelle added that members of the community and local businesses have been eager to help with the event, from volunteering their services, from servers to the clean-up crew, and local restaurants have been generous by donating food.

"People that have been around Yuma a long time just really want to jump on board," LaBelle said. "I think this is really starting to catch on as to how big a deal this is."

Johnson added that she's grateful for the outpouring of support from her hometown and its attempts to let her family share in her lifelong dream.

"It would have been rough," Johnson said, "but since this has all happened it has made it all very easy. We're very blessed and we appreciate everything the whole town is doing for us. It's an honor to be from Yuma."