How a presidential campaign snapshot led to a global mission for a Temple Health physician
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the one that captured Dr. Maura Sammon as a little girl in the arms of presidential hopeful Jimmy Carter is priceless.
A single frame laid the foundation for an entire career.
It was April 22, 1976, when little Maura Sammon, along with her grandparents, found herself at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
There, amid the crowd of campaign supporters, stood Carter, greeting the public on his presidential trail.
Sammon's grandparents wanted to show her what it meant to be an engaged citizen. They never expected a moment that would become part of history.
"My grandparents wanted to introduce me to the American political system," Sammon recalled. "He was there kissing babies, picking up kids and he picked me up. Some local photographer took a photograph."
That photographer was Stanley Olds, a seasoned journalist for the Scranton Times-Tribune. Olds, who passed away in 1998, captured a moment of warmth between Carter and young Sammon.
What began as a spontaneous, fleeting encounter would soon become iconic. The photograph was used in the campaign, transforming it into one of the defining images of the 1976 presidential race.
At the time, no one, least of all Sammon, could predict how profoundly that moment would shape her future. Now an emergency medicine specialist at Temple Health, Sammon credits that chance meeting with Jimmy Carter for inspiring her to make a difference on a global scale.
"One of the things that Jimmy Carter taught me was that you could be a citizen of the world and really try to make the world a better place," she said. "I've worked in Cambodia. I've worked in Iraq, Sierra Leone, India, Ukraine. I ran refugee clinics in Mexico. I was the medical director for Operation Allies Welcome here in Philadelphia."
For Sammon, the image wasn't just a reminder of a campaign event, but a constant motivator to live out the values of service and compassion; ideals she saw embodied in Carter, who would go on to become the 39th president of the United States.
As the country mourns the passing of Carter, Sammon looks back with gratitude on that brief, yet life-altering moment in 1976. When asked what goes through her mind when she sees the photograph today, she pauses, reflecting on how it all unfolded.
"How one little chance encounter can change your life and how much of an incredible influence he was to the world but to me specifically," she said, her voice tinged with appreciation. "He's the reason that I've been able to do what I've done."
