ELWOOD — If there’s one thing Mary Beth Dunnichay would like to get out of her surging fame, it’s the opportunity to change the lives of children. Especially those with special needs.

Recently, Dunnichay had the fortune to meet with a young Lapel girl named Rachel.

The girl’s wish was to have a face-to-face encounter with America’s youngest Olympian. A charity set up a time at Elwood Mayor Merrill Taylor’s office, and Dunnichay was more than willing to oblige.

“It was so cool,” Dunnichay recalls. “This is the stuff I really enjoy doing.”

This was also the moment the 15-year-old diving phenom came to realize something the rest of Madison County had been familiar with for months: She has a unique ability to inspire others.

That’s a big part of the reason Dunnichay is The Herald Bulletin’s Person of the Year for 2008, as selected by the Editorial Board of the newspaper.

The Herald Bulletin’s Person of the Year award recognizes exceptional positive impact on the community over the past year. Significant impact over past years is also considered.

“We have a large number of people in this community that do extraordinary things all of the time,” said Henry Bird, publisher of The Herald Bulletin. “But what Mary Beth did by representing the USA in Beijing is something that we will all remember and be proud of for years to come.”

Dunnichay will receive a distinctive glass Person of the Year piece, and $1,000 will be donated by The Herald Bulletin to The Hopewell Center in her name. The money, at Dunnichay’s request, will be specifically earmarked for the center’s children’s services.

As for her own recent work with Rachel, it seems as though Dunnichay was as inspired as the child she was there to talk with.

When she walked into the room, Dunnichay could see the surprise on Rachel’s face. She tried to make the situation as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

“We just had a normal conversation,” Dunnichay said. “I asked her what she wanted for Christmas.”

As the pair talked, Dunnichay realized Rachel was hanging on her every word. And she started to get a handle on what she means to the community.

“I think that was the first time she really understood,” said her mother Marian Dunnichay. “You really are an inspiration to others.”

Mary Beth’s summary of the meeting is typical of her nature.

“She was so excited,” Mary Beth said. “It was so cute.”

Mary Beth’s Olympic run couldn’t have come at a better time for her hometown.

Elwood was rattled this year by the twin terrors of rising unemployment and an escalating crime rate. Two plants closed, and the city was haunted by a murder-suicide.

Residents of Elwood and of all Madison County found hope in the resilience and resolve of a teenager thrust onto the national stage.

Dunnichay’s path to the Olympics was littered with obstacles, but her effervescent smile never seemed to leave her face.

Teamed with Haley Ishimatsu, a 15-year-old from California who was the second-youngest American Olympian by a few months, Dunnichay faced a make-or-break moment at February’s World Cup in China.

Needing a 79 to qualify for a U.S. spot, she and Ishimatsu scored an 84.

When Laura Wilkinson and Jessica Livingston filed a complaint challenging a selection camp committee’s decision to place Dunnichay and Ishimatsu on the team, the Elwood resident preached the importance of the American team sticking together.

An arbitrator eventually ruled in Dunnichay’s favor, and she was officially on her way to Beijing. She took 13 family members with her, but the hearts and hopes of thousands of others made the trip as well.

Many observers looking to explain Dunnichay’s impact on Elwood like to turn back the clock 68 years to Wendell Willkie’s presidential campaign. Willkie accepted the Republican nomination on Aug. 17, 1940, at Callaway Park.

Dunnichay was feted with a parade in her honor at that same park on July 20. She rode on top of a fire truck and was awestruck at the crowd assembled to cheer her.

“That was so awesome,” Dunnichay said. “I didn’t expect it. I didn’t know anything about it.”

Marian Dunnichay told her daughter the city was planning “a little parade” to celebrate her Olympic qualification. Mary Beth was completely unprepared by the epic scope of the parade she experienced.

Thousands of residents lined the streets, basking in the opportunity to send off the city’s favorite daughter.

“I was so overwhelmed,” Mary Beth admitted. “I started crying.”

Taylor said Dunnichay’s appearance helped to heal a fractured city.

“Mary Beth is one of the bright spots in the city of Elwood,” he said. “With all the crime and the factories closing and people not having jobs, what Mary Beth did gave this city a bright spot.

“She has the ability to bring people together. She really brought this city together.”

When Dunnichay’s time to compete came in Beijing, Madison County was captivated.

Residents watched on NBC as Dunnichay and Ishimatsu rallied in the final round of the 10-meter platform competition to finish fifth in the world.

“When something like this happens, it can truly transform a city — gold, silver, bronze, fourth, fifth or 10th, she is an Olympian, and that is something you will never take away from her and you will never take away from this city,” Dunnichay’s aunt, Angie Collins, told The Herald Bulletin shortly after witnessing the competition.

The words ring just as true now, according to Taylor.

“She’s just a great young lady,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of hope for Elwood after she got back.”

Somehow, fame hasn’t changed Dunnichay.

Her family is steeped in athletic success. Older brother Caleb won a state high school diving championship. He’s now a junior at Notre Dame after starting his college career at Auburn.

Jacob, currently a senior at Elwood High School, holds the football team’s single-game rushing record and helped the Panthers baseball team reach the Class 2A state championship game last spring.

Marian was a gymnast and cheerleader, and Mary Beth’s father, Ned, was a multisport athlete. Cousin Sara Melvin holds Elwood’s diving record.

Marian said Mary Beth’s brothers, and sister Danielle, won’t allow her to become too impressed with her success.

“Her brothers and sister keep her down to earth,” Marian said. “They don’t let it go to her head.”

Despite the fact she still travels to Indianapolis to practice at the national diving training center every day after school, and the likelihood she will need to be home-schooled again soon to accommodate a daunting international diving schedule, Dunnichay has spent the fall and winter as an Elwood varsity cheerleader.

She said she enjoys supporting Jacob’s teams and is happy to be a part of the school community.

Dunnichay said students haven’t treated her any differently since her Olympic experience, and she’s been grateful for the community’s continued support.

“It’s been really great,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. I feel honored and blessed.”

Marian said her daughter remains a normal 15-year-old girl.

“She gets up in the morning, brushes her teeth and eats breakfast with us,” Marian said. “And she’s just Mary Beth until you see that Olympic ring on her finger.”

That ring reminds everyone of where Dunnichay has been and what she’s meant to her hometown in a time of need.

She still gets mail from the United States Olympic Committee, and the letterhead on a recent piece of correspondence really drove home the scope of Dunnichay’s accomplishment:

“Never past. Never former. Always an Olympian.”

And always a source of inspiration for Madison County.