(Jinan, Shandong - July 23, 2008)
The Olympic flame launched its journey of harmony in Jinan , the capital city of Shandong province, on July 23, 2008 .
Scott Shilling, a Denver na
tive who has been operating E5 Systems China for the last 3 years, ran the 240th leg of the torch relay in Jinan at 10:45am . E5 employees along with tens of thousands of chanting and applauding spectators, stood for hours in their E5 jerseys, waiting for the exciting event to take place. When they finally saw Scott running, they roared: "Come on Beijing , come on Olympics! Scott, we are proud of you!"
" There are no words that can describe how proud I feel. It is really a very proud moment considering the fact that I am one of only a handful foreigners who will be running with the Olympic torch in the host country", Scott said, " It's a rare chance of a lifetime to become a torch bearer . It has been one of my dreams to be an Olympic torch bearer and my dream finally comes true in Jinan ”. Millions of people all over China applied to carry the torch, and luckily enough, Shilling was selected to represent those foreign invested companies, which have contributed to their local economies .
"Scott Shilling's long association with the Shandong province and the local Jinan government combined with E5 Systems' close working relationship with Jinan's local community made Shilling the perfect candidate for this honor," according the E5 System's CEO Ric Stroup. "We are very proud to be honored by our Chinese partners. And we are very proud of Shilling and the contribution he has made and will make on this impressive journey."