For the second time in her young life, a youngster from Silver Ridge in southern Aroostook will have her image displayed on the big screen in Times Square, New York City.
A photograph of Hadley Davis, 9, will be included in a video presentation Saturday, Sept. 16, as part of the National Down Syndrome Society’s annual Times Square Video presentation. She appeared in a similar campaign in 2015.
The featured photographs highlight children, teens, and adults with Down syndrome, reminding the world in a very big way about the contributions and milestones of people with the condition. These collective images promote the value, acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome.
The photo of Davis was selected from more than 2,000 entries in the NDSS worldwide call for photos. Almost 500 photographs will appear in the video, which will be shown in the heart of Times Square.
She is the daughter of Shawn and Charlsey Davis and the granddaughter of Charles Garnett and Jacklyn Greulich. Her aunt Carlyn Greulich-Garnett and Travis Gallagher also play a large role in her life and are “loves of her life,” according to her mother.
Hadley is pictured with a mischievous grin standing in a field of wild lupines in a photo taken by Morgan Livezy of Morgan Lynn Portraits. Charlsey Davis said she was not quite sure what was said to her daughter to illicit such a grin.
“We are hoping to make a quick trip to New York City to see the slideshow,” Charlsey Davis said. “Hadley wasn’t very excited about being in the slideshow until I told her that famous people have their pictures on the billboards in Times Square. Her response? ‘Like Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber?’”
The Times Square Video presentation kicks off Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. The video presentation will be followed by the 23rd Annual Flagship Buddy Walk in New York City. This year, Buddy Walk events will be held in more than 275 cities across the country, as well as select international locations, in and around October with more than 325,000 people expected to participate around the globe.
For information about the NDSS Buddy Walk Program, visit www.buddywalk.org or call 800-221- 4602.
