We are counting down the days until the summer Olympics kick off in Paris.
And in honor of that 510 news anchors representing
the Five Olympic Rings are teaming up with Make
a Wish East Tennessee that charity grants life changing
wishes to young people with serious health challenges,
including Zoe
Arrington.
Zoey is serving as my coach in our upcoming anchor Olympics.
So we met up at one of her favorite places so she could help me overcome my fears.
We're here at Dollywood. What do you think about doing Dollywood in the rain?
I think it's peaceful.
Oh, you think it's peaceful? I'm glad to hear it. Well, how about we grab the fan
and let's hit it
on
here at Dollywood. Zoe
Arrington feels right at home strapped into the seat,
preferably in the back of a speeding roller coaster.
Almost like when you're riding and going, there's nothing that can hold you back
and she did not hold back when it came to taking me along for the ride.
This was apparently the start of our training.
Zoe,
are we ready to ride Big Bear Mountain? Yes. Have you ridden this ride before?
Oh, yeah. A million times.
What do I need to prepare for? I have never ridden this ride.
There are certain parts where it goes really fast. Certain parts.
Ok. Am I gonna be scared?
All right, we got this. Yeah,
let's do it.
And I got strapped in for our big ride on Big Bear Mountain.
And what a ride it was. Zoe was cool as a cucumber me.
Oh, maybe not so much
but with Zoe by my side, I kept my grip and most of my dignity intact.
Oh,
yeah.
After conquering that coaster, it was time to face the next challenge.
Thunderhead.
All right. You ready for this one? Am I ready for this one?
Ok.
Once again, Zoe was right. It was fun.
So we decided to give it one more whirl on mystery mind and when I say
wh I'm not kidding,
you got to sell.
We brave the speed, the height and the rain.
Then it was time for a little break and a little one on one chat.
Do you ever get scared riding the roller coasters?
Not really not unless it's like one that I know my heart won't be able to handle.
I usually try to stay away from those.
And speaking of your heart, tell me a little bit about your heart.
Well, um,
I had my first surgery when I was 18 months old
and then the second surgery right before I turned two and then the third,
open night surgery when I was 12,
Zoe's up and down health journey led her to make a wish East Tennessee.
And thanks to that, to being my coach for our upcoming Anchor Olympics.
We rode some roller coasters today. How do you think I did on the roller coasters?
I think
it did pretty
good. I didn't
hear you scream.
I
think I was holding it all in.
So, if I did really well in the roller coasters,
do you think maybe I'll do pretty well in the competition?
I think it'll be great.
So if you would love to see me beat one of my coworkers, who would it be
all of them?
I like that. Perfect.
But we had one more surprise up our sleeve.
We couldn't leave Dollywood without seeing our favorite Sevier County Songbird.
Seeing Dolly on stage was a thrill, but this ride wasn't over for Zoe quite yet.
Zoe. I have um, something to show you really quickly.
You gotta listen real close,
Zoe.
I will always love you too.
Did you hear what she said?
She, you got a message straight from Dolly. What do you think? I think that's
pretty,
pretty cool. Indeed. And hey, with Dolly on our side, we can't lose.
Now, coming up in April,
my fellow anchors and I will be competing in some summer games at D One
sports and our coaches will be there to cheer us on in those events.
And if you'd like to help make more wishes come true. You can head to wbir.com.
We do have a link to the make a Wish East Tennessee page.