New York City’s Jumbotron screens in Times Square are flashy fixtures in the nation’s largest city. On Sept. 6, one 3,685-square-foot screen will feature Whitefish’s Abi Kurtz. 

An image of Kurtz mountain biking was chosen from over 2,500 photos to be included in the 2025 National Down Syndrome Society slide show in the Big Apple. 

The organization’s mission is to promote the understanding, acceptance and inclusion of individuals with Down syndrome. Organizers said Kurtz’s photo captured the essence of the society’s mission with beauty and strength. 

If the aim of the National Down Syndrome Society’s campaign is to show that diversely abled people have rich, fulfilling lives, Kurtz is the ideal representative. She has a loving family, holds an administrative job in the heart of her town, participates in a wide range of activities and makes friends wherever she goes.  

Kurtz loves spending time with her parents, Mamie and Neil, older siblings, Jake, Katie and Grace and a brother-in-law. She is a proud aunt to three nieces and a nephew, and her dog Dempsey has a perpetually wagging tail. 

The 27-year-old Kurtz has worked as a project assistant at Whitefish City Hall for six years. Filing, scanning, shredding and recycling are just a few of her responsibilities. 

Many of her co-workers at City Hall describe Kurtz as a hard worker and say it is wonderful to have her in the office. Sabrya Fredrickson, City Hall administrative assistant, said Kurtz epitomizes the "work hard, play hard” ethos, and that she always “crushes” her task list. 

"She is a hard worker who is a whiz with mailings and the postage machine,” said Dabney Langellier, plans examiner. "She knows how to have fun at work as well. She loves a good practical joke and knows how to keep us smiling and laughing." 

Her job coach, Diana Slater, looks forward to working with Kurtz each week and said Kurtz has a smile for everyone she meets and takes pride in her work. Slater shared an example of Kurtz’s comedy at work. 

“Abigael has a great sense of humor and the greatest laugh,” Slater said. “She loves to make her coworkers jump by saying ‘Boo’ when they are not expecting it or silently moving around a corner without being noticed.”   

THE IMAGE that will be projected on the big screen in New York shows Kurtz in a pink helmet, smiling while pedaling a rugged, three-wheeled mountain bike through a sunlit grassy field. 

Kurtz has been an athlete with DREAM Adaptive Recreation for about 10 years. She has participated in winter activities, like alpine and Nordic skiing, and has recently developed an interest in kayaking and biking. She often bikes with DREAM volunteers Jen and Connie as well as Maddy Westbrook, DREAM program manager.  

“She’s nice,” Kurtz said of Westbrook. 

The bike in the Times Square image is one of DREAM’s adaptive foot pedal recumbents in DREAM’s fleet of about a dozen adaptive cycles. Westbrook said Kurtz has been “super active” in cycling for the last three summers. 

“I've gotten to ride bikes with Abi on an almost weekly basis for the last three summers and it's been really cool,” Westbrook said. “Abi and Mamie and Neil are important people to me, and I feel very honored to get to ride with her.” 

Kurtz recently started kayaking, and on a recent paddle day with DREAM she and a DREAM volunteer traveled about four miles around the islands off Somers Beach.  

“What DREAM is doing and how they do it is spectacular.” Flinn said. 

THERE ARE, seemingly, not enough hours in the day to accommodate all the things Kurtz does. 

For the last five years, Kurtz has tended the horses each week at the Two Bear Therapeutic Riding stables. She brushes and walks horses like Boomer. 

Kurtz competes in bocce ball and bowling in the local Special Olympics with her team, the Whitefish Thunder.  

She also enjoyed a day at Bitterroot Lake recently with Special Friends Advocacy of Kalispell, a nonprofit that aims to improve the lives of community members with disabilities. Kurtz joins the group for monthly outings. 

When fall rolls around, she and her dad bow hunt together. The two were in a Father’s Day advertisement for onX Maps. Her sister Katie was the producer. 

With each activity, Kurtz makes friends. Now, she has too many to count. When asked how many friends she thinks she has, she answered, “All of them.” 

Kurtz’s powers do not lie only in athletic endeavors and outdoor adventures; she is also an artist with a gallery wall of paintings in her home. Many are landscapes, one depicts a family dog, Sophie, who has passed away, and another is a beautiful rendition of the Whitefish City Hall with its unmistakable windows and brickwork. 

She is a self-taught guitarist and a trained singer who performed the National Anthem to open the Buddy Walk a couple years ago. 

“I’m a good singer,” she said. 

The Buddy Walk is a nationwide event that celebrates individuals with Down syndrome and raises community awareness. The Montana Down Syndrome Association hosts the local 2025 Buddy Walk in Lawrence Park in Kalispell from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12. 

According to the National Down Syndrome Society, about 1 in 770 babies in the United States are born with Down syndrome. The condition occurs when an individual has a full or partial copy of the 21st chromosome and most people with Down syndrome experience mild to moderate cognitive delays.  

The Times Square slide show, featuring Kurtz’s photo, will be live streamed on the NDSS Facebook page from 7:30-8:30 a.m., MT, Saturday, Sept. 6.