20 ‘Heroes’ Chosen to Carry Olympic Torch

They include a rabbi, a foster mother, a firefighter, a retired college teacher and a disabled volunteer.

The eclectic group of 20 “community heroes,” introduced here Thursday, will unite with 20 former Olympians to help carry the Olympic torch through Orange County on April 28 as it makes its way to Atlanta for the 1996 Summer Games.

The participants were chosen by a United Way-sponsored committee from 400 applicants.

The torchbearers will receive the torch in Seal Beach after it is passed from volunteers running the Los Angeles leg of the cross-country route. The relay will head south to San Clemente, where it will be turned over to San Diego runners. It is to arrive in Atlanta on July 19 for opening ceremonies of the games.

Rich Pawsat, a 33-year-old Santa Ana resident who is mentally and physically disabled, gave a “thumbs up” Thursday as he was introduced at a news conference at City Hall.

“I’m going to be famous,” said Pawsat, a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club of Tustin for about 15 years.

Olympic diver Sammy Lee, 75, flashed a grin as his name was announced.

Lee, a retired doctor from Huntington Beach who participated in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, carried the torch in 1984 as it made its way through Koreatown in Los Angeles for the 1984 Olympics.

“This time I’m not going to run so fast,” Lee joked.

The torch’s only Orange County stop will be in Huntington Beach at about 3:30 a.m. The city will celebrate the event with a bash.

A gala is planned on the eve of the torch’s arrival at Huntington Beach Mall, expected to draw dignitaries from cities countywide as well as Olympians who live in the county and surrounding areas.

Many downtown businesses also plan to be open to serve the anticipated crowd.

Information: United Way of Orange County (714) 890-5700 or Norma Brandel Gibbs, chairwoman of the Orange County Torchbearer Celebration Committee: (714) 846-3247.