How Strong Women Pray Author Visits Detroit Last Edited: Thursday, 08 Nov 2007, 8:02 AM EST Created: Thursday, 08 Nov 2007, 6:44 AM EST DETROIT -- Bonnie St. John, a 1984 African American Silver and Bronze medal Olympic Ski Racer, visits Detroit to help the Jim Dandy Ski Club, the world's first African-American ski club, kick-off its Gold 50th Anniversary celebration on November 8th, 2007, 6 pm to 9 pm at The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. A motivational coach, author and speaker, St. John will be in town to promote her newest book, "How Strong Women Pray." A paralympic medal-winning skier, St. John's leg was amputated when she was five years of age. Despite the obstacles of being African American, living far from snow -- in San Diego -- and having one leg, she went on to win an Olympic medal. St. John pushed past the limits of her disability and became the Silver Medal Winner in downhill skiing in the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruk Austria. St. John says that her success on the slopes, as in life, was largely determined by how fast she got up after a fall. "I've been able to overcome tremendous challenges because people along the way helped me push through 'limits'," says St. John. "Now its my turn to make a difference in the lives of others." Her new book, "How Strong Women Pray," discusses the importance of prayer and how it plays a role in the lives of women. It includes interviews with 28 extraordinary women, like Maya Angelou, Barbara Bush and Nadia Comaneci, about their private communications with God. St. John is also the author of Succeeding Sane: Making Room For Joy In A Crazy World, Getting Ahead At Work Without Leaving Your Family Behind, and Money: Fall Down? Get Up! A Rhodes Scholar and Harvard graduate, St. John has been called one of the five most inspiring women in America by NBC Nightly News, St. John has been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Montel and the Discovery Health Channel. She has also been profiled by The New York Times and People Magazine. She was part of the 2012 organization working to bring the Olympics to New York City and had the opportunity to ring the NYSE opening bell as a part of that effort. Jim Dandy Ski Club has several events planned to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. Among them are a local ski outing at Mt. Holly on February 9, 2008 and a Black Tie evening at the Roostertail on July 19, 2008. Established in 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, Jim Dandy Ski Club is the first African-American Ski Club founded in the United States. The celebration begins during the 2008 ski season with an MLK Ski-lebration at Mt. Holly on February 9th, 2008 and an Anniversary Dinner at the Roostertail on July 19th, 2008 - only two of the events planned. The club's name from a hit recording by Lavern Baker, "Jim Dandy To The Rescue," the club started with approximately 23 members. In 1973, Jim Dandy became a charter member of the National Brotherhood of Skiers, Inc., an organization that today hosts more than African-American 5,000 skiers from across the nation at annual summits. Today, with more than 200 members, Jim Dandy Ski Club continues its long-standing mission of exposing African-Americans to the sport of skiing. For more information about Jim Dandy and its 50th Anniversary, contact club president Calvin Brown at 248-478-0137, 50th anniversary chair Walter Bailey at (313) 835-9162, or visit www.jimdandyskiclub.org
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