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Human Peace Sign Attempts World Record
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Ithaca, NY -- June 22, 2008 -- In an effort to promote world
peace, and to establish a world record, close to 7,000 participants
gathered to form a human peace sign at Stewart Park in Ithaca, NY.
The event took place on the final day of the festival that drew
record crowds from June 18-22.
The human peace sign was inspired and organized by Trevor
Dougherty, a sophomore at Ithaca High School. According to
Dougherty, the effort was to send a message for peace first, and
establishing a world record second. Dougherty is well known for his
ability to move and inspire people and unite them for a cause.
The organizers on the ground handed out beans to those
arriving and then counted backwards from their bag to get an
accurate count. "We had 5,814 counted, and an additional 1,000 that
didn't collect their beans or were already there when we began the
handout," said Dougherty.
Up in the sky, Dougherty entrusted the filming of this
historic and unified effort to Wendy Post, Ken Luby Sr., and
Rebecca Eschler. Dougherty coordinated the human formation of the
peace sign from on the ground, using UHF communications to direct
his air crew for optimal recording of the effort.
The flight for aerial photography was made possible thanks to
David St. George, chief pilot and chief instructor at East Hill
Flying Club, Ithaca. St. George, who was recently named the Federal
Aviation Administration Flight Instructor of the Year for the
eastern region at Kennedy International Airport, took photographers
and filmmakers high in the sky to capture the aerial images of the
world's largest human peace sign for broadcast and submission.
Post, who once served as a Department of Defense
correspondent in combative zones, retired early from her position
and went to work as the Director of an Outreach and Homeless
Services organization. Post now serves as Editor for several
publications as well as guest writer for a daily newspaper. Post
has extensive aerial photography experience, and remains involved
in environmental and humanitarian efforts locally and throughout
the United States.
Ken Luby Sr. is the father of Ken Luby, the 28-year old Owego
resident who won a spot earlier this year on Steven Spielberg's "On
The Lot" reality TV show. Although Luby didn't win first place, he
has been embraced by the film industry and thus remains in Los
Angeles, CA. His father, Ken Luby Sr., has been communicating with
his son in California to gather ideas for the filming of this
event.
Rebecca Eschler is an Owego resident who has worked for
several newspapers in the area. Rebecca accompanied Post and Luby
to assist with the photography and video recording process. Her
creative and enthusiastic outlook inspired the creative capturing
of the world record breaking efforts.
Sponsors who have supported the effort of making this record
attempt successful include the Ithaca Festival 2008, and Ithaca's
own Viva Taqueria restaurant.
The videography, now completed, will be edited and assembled
for broadcast via YouTube, and for submission to Guiness World
Records (TM). The YouTube broadcast should be available soon with a
link made available through
http://www.youtube.com/maddogza.