More Than Gold - When the Thin Gold Line Goes to the Olympics
Written by Tracy Ertl, published February 9, 2022
When I was a young girl growing up in California, I had dreams of living a safe, happy life. My homelife was dangerous with an out of control, depressed and violent father. My mom was a loving, but desperate mother who worked full-time and wanted to keep her family together.
It was 1976, I was 11-years-old and two things kept my mind & heart alive and hopeful that summer. In the mornings after a rough night at home, I would hunt for dead dandelions on the desert floor to make as many wishes as possible. I wished for safety, love, my mom to get home and for my younger brother to be able to play peacefully and not get hit.
I also wished that summer to someday go to the Olympics.
I watched television for hours, especially mesmerized that year by Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. I loved everything about her. She would never know, but she kept my 11-yr-old heart full of hope that summer in the midst of devastating child abuse. From that point on, I always loved the Olympics. No one was fighting. Everyone was gathered from around the World and for me, it represented the best of what humanity is capable of with a common goal.
The little girl grew up. But the woman will even now on occasion, when no one is looking - grab a dandelion, make a wish.
I became a 911 telecommunicator after working in media. I fell in love with first responders as a reporter and decided to join the mission. I found myself positioned to take the calls for help I was unable to make as a child. The work was exhilarating, gut-wrenching, terrifying and absolutely the love of my life, aside from my husband and children. I knew how hard it was for people to call for help because of my own experiences. I was able to empathize with callers, save lives, protect field responders and be part of a family while performing that mission. It was truly wonderful to know I was exactly where God had intended me to land.
In 2001, I decided to chase my childhood dream of going to the Olympics. I had no athletic ability, but I loved communications and could offer both public safety and media communications expertise as a potential volunteer. Me and a great friend both applied to be volunteers for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. We were accepted and then two months before the Games, they lost us and thousands of other volunteers in a computer glitch. We called for weeks, emailed and couldn't get a response.
My dear 911 friend quietly cheered me on as I decided to try again for the dream of going. I chased it for years just like I was getting help to a 911 caller. I could not give up for my 11-yr-old self. In 2005 I got the notification that I had been selected. My 911 family - Brown County Public Safety Communications 911 - left vacation slots open and several worked trades to ensure my ability to be a communications specialist at the Olympics!
The image of the Olympic torch passing just inches from my face will forever be burned in my mind & heart. I called my 911 center live in the moment from Pinerolo, Italy and now retired dispatcher Sue Campshure answered. I cried I was so excited. I think she did, too.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime month. I had come full circle from the hunted child, to 911 professional to the Olympic Games, my childhood wish come true. The thin gold line was in Italy. I carried the hearts of hundreds of 911 family with me all those thousands of miles to the world stage. When I knelt on the Olympic ice after a USA win, all the wonder of the child so long ago was present. Security turned a blind eye to the gregarious American that I was! They let me hug that Olympic ice and then climb the podium for one unbelievable moment in time.
I returned to my 911 family full of vigor. It is that odyssey of a journey - that magical ice - that gave me the confidence to pursue training in classrooms across the country, starting in 2007.
I wasn't at the 2006 Games to win a medal. I was there to serve a communications mission and to convert dozens of dead 1976 dandelions into a wish come true.
More than gold.
Tracy C. Ertl, founder HeroLight Training LLC; answering THE call & supporting others to do so since 1993
Thank you, Tracy for sharing your story with us. If you are interested in writing a blog, please email 911derWomen@gmail.com. Sign up for our newsletter on our homepage to stay up to date with 911der Women programming, exclusive content and blog updates. Click here and scroll to the bottom.