WCNC NBC Charlotte hosted an event called Dream Day where community members were nominated by friends and family to get the chance to have a new, unique experience.

NBC Charlotte wanted to help a small group of people get to live out their dreams with their own personal “dream day.” The call for nominations looked for those who were selfless, generous and always looking out for others before themselves.

One winner of this dream day event is Elinor Hadley. She is the latest dream day winner.

She has said that “you only live once” is her motto. So, it is no surprise that she was up for a new adventure and excited to tackle something a bit daring.

Her son, Will, has said that, “She has always taught us to give anything a try. You may not like it; you don’t have to do it again. But, you will never know until you try it.” Elinor lives up to this advice herself by always being ready to dive into a new experience.

She is known in Charlotte for her selflessness and enthusiasm. Elinor has a pattern of putting others before herself that prompted someone she knew to nominate her for this event.

Teresa Wohlbruck, the Cypress Club’s Director of Community Life Services, had this to say about Elinor, “Anytime we do a new calendar and it goes out, her name is the first on the sign up sheet.”

So, when Elinor found out she had won this Dream Day competition and that she would be given the chance to do something new that was also pretty adrenaline filled and maybe a bit scary, she jumped at the chance. She was given the opportunity to go indoor skydiving for the first time. And she was happy to “dive in,” so to speak.

As an 84 year old mother of five, Elinor doesn’t believe that you are ever too old to try something new. Skydiving wasn’t a ridiculous notion to her because of her age; she was ready to give it a whirl.

Elinor had this to say about her Dream Day win, “You’re never too old. So try, try everything you can think of. I’ve been told i was nuts all my life so what else is new.”

Elinor participated in a windtunnel skydive at the Paraclete SP SkyVenture with her family and friends in attendance to watch her put her words into actions. The Paraclete SP SkyVenture is an indoor skydiving center that utilizes wind tunnels to recreate the experience of skydiving while staying indoors.

Elinor was a pro at the wind tunnel in no time with the help of the instructors. She had this to say about the experience, “It was a wonderful adventure. I loved it.”

The instructors and Elinor’s children were also happy to be a part of her Dream Day. One of the instructors said that, “I hope that she comes back and flies more. We love giving that experience to people, especially like her.”

Elinor Hadley had the chance to get the adventure of a lifetime through her Dream Day experience, and she was able to live out her life’s motto. Those around her were also happy to see her enjoy herself and be an inspiration to them to try something new, too.