Tammy Foust, a math teacher at Norwood Middle School, works with Donald Evans, 11. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        NORWOOD — Tammy Foust never saw doing something she loves to do as an honorable thing, until the day she was chosen to bear a torch in life.

        Ms. Foust, 37, is a math teacher and eighth-grade boys basketball coach at Norwood Middle School. She is one of 11,500 Torchbearers nationwide — 88 in the Tristate — who will carry the torch up to two-tenths of a mile to kick off the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games in February.

        The Olympic Flame will land on U.S. soil, in Atlanta Dec. 4, to begin an inspirational 65-day journey. The flame will travel through 46 states and will cover more than 13,500 miles on its way to Salt Lake City, where the Olympic Winter Games will commence Feb. 8 The Forest Park mother of two, who was nominated in April by a student's parents and Norwood Middle School's secretary, Linda Hammer, said she is thrilled by the honor.

        “When I first heard I was nominated, I thought, there's no way,” Ms. Foust said. “It feels so good to be recognized for loving what you do. I get a little teary-eyed just thinking about it.”

        Teaching has been a love for Ms. Foust for 15 years. She graduated from Norwood High School in 1982, then served eight years in the Marine Corps.

        She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1987 with a degree in education.

        “I have a lot of pride in Norwood. My children go here and my husband works in this area. I am very proud of the school system,” she said.

        Ms. Foust said many students are inspired by the fact she was:

        • Inducted in 1999 into Norwood High School's Athletic Hall of Fame.

        • Valedictorian in 1982.

        • Called to duty in Operation Desert Storm.

        As a sergeant, she and her troop were stationed 20 miles outside Kuwait and in 1990-91 she spent six months away from her husband, Dale, and 2-year-old son, Jacob.

        She remembers not knowing back then if and when she would return home.

        “I know exactly how those families in New York and Washington, D.C., felt,” she said. “One day you're off to work and the next thing you know, there is no tomorrow. I am lucky because I was given a second chance. Now I can really appreciate my family, my friends and my freedom.”

        Ms. Foust was excited to learn that Coca-Cola Co., which selected 27 of the local Torchbearers, will cover the costs of the torches, which recipients get to keep after the relay.

        Torchbearers in the Tristate are scheduled to carry the flame Dec. 17-18.

        Ms. Foust said participants will be notified of the exact location three weeks before the event takes place.

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