It was 3 PM on a Wednesday afternoon in sunny Pismo Beach, California, and 19-year-old Cameron Clapp was looking for a tuxedo while juggling his cell phone. The scene sounds like an average teenager getting ready for prom, but Clapp was gearing up for an important day in his young life: The Shining Star Awards Gala.
The 58th annual dinner/dance event, sponsored by Just One Break Inc. (JOB), a nonprofit organization founded in part by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1947, was honoring gold medal-winning Clapp for his achievements as a star athlete. On November 30, 2005, he became one of a few recipients of the prestigious award, along with such luminaries as Christopher Reeve and Ray Charles. "It's a black-tie event," he explained while preparing. "There are going to be a lot of important people there, I imagine."
The gala honored "those whose outlook and achievements provide inspiration and encouragement for people with disabilities," read the invitation to the event, titled Silver Linings, "either by example or by supporting JOB in its mission of helping qualified applicants obtain sustainable employment."
One of three Shining Star recipients that evening, Clapp received a standing ovation after his acceptance speech. "I was very nervous," he said afterwards. "This was the biggest event of my life and something of which I'll always be proud." Having always been an outstanding athlete, Clapp's accomplishments are now especially impressive and inspirational, since he's missing three limbs.
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Unquenchable Spirit: The Cameron Clapp Storyoandp.com - Sherry Metzger, MS
