LOGAN — An Olympic-themed celebration at Nibley Elementary on Friday is expected to be just the beginning of Utah 2034’s efforts to involve Cache Valley in the buildup to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Tom Kelly, communications lead for Utah 2034, told KVNU’s “For the People” host Jason Williams that organizers intend to use the eight years remaining before the Games to build connections throughout the state, including Northern Utah.
“As we lead up to the Games, we want the entire state to be engaged in the Games, and we’re looking forward to more activities up in the Logan and the surrounding Cache Valley area,” Kelly said.
That outreach comes to Cache County on Friday with the Champion Schools 34 celebration at Nibley Elementary.
The school is one of seven around Utah hosting “Opening Ceremonies” this month for the launch of the education program, which will reach 72 elementary schools in seven Utah school districts this fall.
Olympic freestyle aerials gold medalist Chris Lillis and Paralympic alpine skier Matthew Brewer are scheduled to participate in the Nibley event.
Kelly said the athletes will use their experiences to connect with students on subjects extending beyond sports.
“They’ll talk about the importance of these values,” Kelly said. “They’ll talk about the importance of reading, and they’ll share stories about when they were in first grade, second grade, third grade, and what reading meant to them, what friendship meant to them.”
Kelly has spent the past several days attending Champion Schools events in the Salt Lake Valley and said the response from students has demonstrated what organizers hope to accomplish around the state.
“To see 500 energized kids in the gymnasium — we have Olympic and Paralympic athletes up front and they’re talking about the Games and the excitement, but also talking about values and they’re talking about reading — and just the engagement of the kids just is heartwarming,” Kelly said.
The program is also an example of how Utah 2034 organizers are using an unusually long runway before the Games.
Salt Lake City was selected in 2024 to host the 2034 Winter Games, providing a decade between the award and the opening ceremonies. Kelly said Olympic organizing committees more typically have about seven years.
“One of the things that’s really important to us at Utah 2034 is to engage communities, to use the Games, to platform the Games, to really energize communities in every corner of the state,” Kelly said.
Champion Schools grew out of a philanthropic effort known as Podium 34.
Kelly said Utah 2034 faced a challenge because the organizing committee needed funding years before it would be able to generate commercial revenue. Organizers turned to Utah families for philanthropic contributions, including the Huntsman, Eccles, Garff and Miller families.
Under the program, Kelly said a portion of donations at certain levels was allocated to causes important to the contributing families.
Education became a focus through the Garff family and Ken Garff for Good.
“The impetus on education really came from the Garff family,” Kelly said. “They’re well-connected in the education circles around the state. So they came to us and said, ‘We’d like to help initiate this education program around the state.’”
Kelly said organizers have much larger ambitions for Champion Schools than this fall’s initial group of 72 elementary schools.
“We hope that by next year, it’s in every school in the state of Utah,” he said. “And I have to say, no other organizing committee has been able to do this. So it’s something that we as Utah 2034 are proud of.”
For Cache Valley, Friday’s Nibley celebration offers an early example of an Olympic outreach effort Kelly said will continue as 2034 approaches.
The Nibley Elementary event begins at 10 a.m. Friday.