February 27, 2014 (Sochi, Russia) – It’s my last day here, most of the Olympic scene has packed up and is already gone. The torch extinguished the staff and volunteers work on to prepare for the upcoming Paralympic Games. The crowds at the venues and at the medals plaza where I worked have grown smaller. Most of my friends have gone.

Yet the last few days have given me some precious time to decompress a bit, catch up on much need sleep, and to wind down emotionally from the “high” of the OWG, for this Olympic junkie. I have just announced at my 8th Games and I love the Olympic movement. I believe in its essence for good will and peace in the world. Just perhaps, we need this now more than ever.

This is not a story about skiing, or perhaps even of sport, except in the broadest sense of the word. What I experienced throughout the entire Olympic Games here in Sochi gave me both great promise and hope, on so many levels.

This being the XXII Olympic Games, of course there are the facts. A total of 99 gold medals were won by the champions. There were 80 nations and a whopping 2,797 athletes that took part. This was Russia’s first-ever Olympic Winter Games, and it delivered 17 days of marvelous sport with drama, upset wins, disappointment for some, heartaches and heart breaks, thrilling moments, powerful displays of sportsmanship and the array of human emotion. Stories of young, ambitious up-and-coming wunderkinds, and of veterans still in peak form, all engaged in a good fight.

Most of it was truly ennobling to witness and touched the heart.

That the sheer size of the modern Games can be successfully navigated is a tribute to the power of the human will, modern technology, hard working and dedicated staff and volunteers and a near endless supply of money to finance these venues and dreams.

Despite the fact that the Winter Games are much smaller than the Summer Games, they remain a massive undertaking by every standard. Add in the massive costs and manpower involved in securing the modern Olympics and it’s mind boggling when you realize the logistics of this huge, complex machine with many moving parts. It’s almost too big to get your arms around it all, and yet I try to focus on my little piece of the puzzle. In a movement this large, you just gotta have faith in others.

The Sochi Games were staged in a place that was called too warm by many; with too little snow; yet they did it anyway. The venues were beautiful and I visited most of them… state of the art facilities – that if they continue to be utilized will be a real gift to generations of Russian youth for years to come.

The long-term success of these venues is dependent on their continued use. Legacy programs are essential to extract the best after use of the venues. Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Calgary and Lake Placid are just a few examples of legacy programs that have kept their venues vibrant, and the Olympic spirit alive in North America.

I get to work as a PA announcer with a host of volunteers and have always found that to be a very enriching experience at every Olympics. People, young and old, who work long hours, endure the weather outside, and whose pride of being involved and playing a role in the OWG is simply essential to the Games success. There were more than 25,000 volunteers, who were helpful, supportive, kind, and even where there were language barriers remained bright eyed with enthusiasm.

As a PA announcer I try and root for every athlete, regardless of country, and feel a special obligation to try and get the name pronounced right and some bio information on each athlete. This is about the athletes  and I had a lot of volunteer help and couldn’t have done it without their tireless support helping with bios, research, getting food, all manner of tasks.

I don’t know them all by name, but I will never forget their faces and for making us feel so much at home. The sad part is I know – other than perhaps on Facebook – I won’t see most of them again. That’s sad… as Haruki Murakami wrote in Kafka on the Shore….”I’ll never see them again. I know that. And they know that, and knowing this we say farewell.”

These really were splendid Games. Like others I too was worried about host of things and potential problems prior to leaving my home. But I’m sure glad I came, and sure happy to have met new friends who now feel great pride in what has been accomplished and what is about to happen with the upcoming Paralympics.

The next Games will be in the Korean alps, in the mountains of Pyeongchang. Four years seems far away at the moment, but being on the other side of 60, I know that these months and years shall pass by quickly. I have been given a great gift with the privilege to play a small role in this movement. Will I be around in 2018…? Of course I hope to be yet have no answers as to what the future will bring.

For the wonderful time spent here over the last month I am bringing home the very best memories and parts to ponder and. Thank you Sochi, thank you friends… as we begin to express our gratitude there is so much to be thankful for.

As one of my favorite poets, John Keats once wrote…”I have so much of you in my heart.”

Thank you Sochi, for these unforgettable days.