I am writing too to encourage the Ogdensburg City School District School Board to agree to add Penny Rafis Sharrow’s name to the track with Steve Barlow’s. Making the decision to leave her name …
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I am writing too to encourage the Ogdensburg City School District School Board to agree to add Penny Rafis Sharrow’s name to the track with Steve Barlow’s. Making the decision to leave her name out is a major disappointment as she has coached for several years and the amount of impact she has on people life is astonishing. What separates her from other coaches she always gave the same amount of respect and attention to both the gifted and non-gifted athletes. Having a disability I got to see that first hand as Coach Sharrow always made sure I was never left out by letting run in as many meets as possible due to my strong efforts. Many coaches disagree with her decision due to my time being slower than slow however she saw it as I was breaking a barrier. Regarding of breaking a barrier know only 3 percent of the people with my disability are able to play varsity sports due to it he intense coordination, low-muscle, and other neurological challenges it brings and Sharrow is a tremendous reason why I am part of that small group. Her outstanding care and support towards me made it so I was able to stay determined to overcome the obstacles running was presenting me. I was also able to realize she was right after a few years I was breaking a barrier because of her always being so supportive to me. While this is only a small fraction of her accomplishments let alone her remarkable overall record it’s a strong reason why I believed her name should be on the track next to Steve Barlow’s as they both have strong contributions to the Ogdensburg Free Academy Track and Field Programs.