In the spirit of the just-completed Olympic Games and in an effort to reconnect, a 1996 Olympic Games staff reunion (specifically those who worked in the Cleveland/Ocoee region) is being planned for this coming September.

The 1996 Olympic Games Staff reunion will take place on Sept. 19 and 20 at The Whitewater Inn at Ocoee.

The reunion will include participants who were employed by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, volunteers for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, and former staff members of the Tennessee Ocoee Development Agency.

Also participating in the event will be Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi and 1996 United States Olympic Team Manager Lisa Jacobi. In 1992, Jacobi teamed with Scott Strausbaugh to win American’s first-ever Olympic Gold Medal in Whitewater Canoe Slalom.

Twelve years later, Jacobi returned to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens as an athlete, finishing a career which included paddling rivers in more than twenty countries and thousands of competitive experiences that shaped his “Gold Medal Life.”

For more information on Jacobi and to read his “Gold Medal Living” blog, visit www.joejacobi.com. He has also been in Beijing, China covering the 2008 Summer Olympic Games for NBC Sports. You can read his blog on the official NBC Sports website.

Events also include the band Convertibull, the five-member party band that played for the Olympic Wrap-up Party in 1996. They are set to take the stage on Friday night, Sept. 19. On Saturday night, Sept. 20, Sunny 92.3’s DJ Gene Lovin and 410 Productions will be providing the entertainment.

There will also be information available all weekend during the event about how to volunteer for future Olympic Games including the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, the 2012 Games in London and the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Materials will be located at the front desk of The Whitewater Inn at Ocoee.

All former staff members who have not yet been contacted are invited to email 1996olympics@gmail.com for more information.

Sponsors include Sunny 92.3 WDEF Radio, Chattanooga’s all-new hit music station, 96.5 The Mountain, The Whitewater Inn at Ocoee, Cherokee Rafting and The Polk County Chamber of Commerce.

Food vendors and sponsors interested in participating in the event should email 1996olympics@gmail.com for more information.

For more details, please email Holly Abernathy, event coordinator, at 1996olympics@gmail.com or call (423) 870-8280.