Spread the Word to End the Word on March 28

Jared Niemeyer is a SOMO athlete from Kirksville

March is Spread the word to End the R-word campaign month. Our youth are leading the R-word movement to address this issue of social injustice.  They are standing strong and informing others of the significance in not using the R-word.  This movement is encouraging people to make a decision to use respectful language and make a pledge to not use the R-word.  Their goal is to generate respect for all individuals; promoting inclusive communities, inclusive employment and a more inclusive world.  Shouldn’t every encounter be addressed?

We may not find it necessary to take the stand that John Franklin Stephens, Special Olympics athlete and Global Messenger, took in writing an open letter to Ann Coulter due to her use of the word retard following the Presidential debates in November 2012.  However, we are very grateful for John’s courage and his thought-provoking letter.  John’s letter included this comment, “Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.”

John has said in the past that hearing the word retard “makes him, and others like him, feel wholly excluded.  I want you to know that it hurts to be left out here, alone.  Nothing scares me as much as feeling all alone in a world that moves so much faster than I do.”

With 385,153 pledges to date, our message is growing strong and our voice steady.  Join us by visiting www.r-word.org to make this pledge:

I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.

If you’ve made the pledge, step up to the challenge and resolve to add your voice to this movement in order to make a difference!

It only takes one person!  Eunice Kennedy Shriver not only accomplished her dream of promoting dignity through athletic opportunities, but has spread her dream across our world.  You can do the same thing in your family, school, clubs, organizations and community.  You can make all the difference with the people around you.  You can make change but you can also BE the change!

Students in Kirksville pledge to end the use of the r-word

You can do so many things to promote change by being motivated, enthusiastic, encouraging, and energetic.  Be the change in ending the R-word means you explain to others how hurtful the derogatory use of the word retard is to those with intellectual disabilities.  It makes those of us who have an intellectual disability feel inferior, less important, able to do or accomplish less or even unlovable.  It’s important to stop putting others down by saying “retard” or “retarded” as if it’s disgusting or the worst thing possible.  Take a stand – share with your family, friends or others who use those words that it hurts us.  Take a stand to be the change for positive attitudes and changed hearts in your community.  Take a stand to be a strong, positive voice!

Most people don’t seem to understand how saying words can be so hurtful.  When you explain to one person, a friend, a group of people, a club, a class, a school – it spreads!!  Just informing others causes a ripple effect.  You can share with your friends and they can help promote change with you!  If you start a campaign in your school you just have to have a plan that your group of friends and an interested adult can share with your principal or superintendent.  If they are concerned you have to listen to what their concerns may be and adjust your plans if possible to make it doable in your school!  Listen to them and they’ll listen to you.

Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver, Jared and Brenda Niemeyer and Senator Roy Blunt

Use ideas on the R-word website or in the Project UNIFY manual to make sure your campaign has everything it needs to be the best!  These ideas can help you come up with plans for your group to propose and accomplish.  Stopping the R-word is about respect, dignity, unity, fairness, understanding, inclusion, truth, honor and acceptance.  We can all live together by working together; but we have to be a positive person in our community.  Everybody deserves to be treated with respect.  You might not always understand me or know what I’m talking about, but what I have to share is important.  I want to help make good things happen for the people around me.  I want to help others get through school, get along with others, get a meaningful job, live as independently as they can and give to their community!  One can make HUGE changes for many others.  Be the one working for positive change.  BE THE CHANGE in your community!

Jared Niemeyer is a SOMO athlete who lives in Kirksville. He serves on the national Youth Activation Committee, a group of young people from across the country who work together to promote school communities where all young people are agents of change.

Capitol Hill Day 2013: A Day We Will Never Forget

On March 6, Special Olympics and Best Buddies representatives from all over the nation stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to spread the good news of their life-changing programs for those with intellectual disabilities. Working for SOMO, this of course means so much to me. Getting a chance to speak to congress about the needs of our athletes is a huge honor! However, it means much more to me than that, and here is why.

31 years ago, my parents had a baby boy with Down syndrome and they named him Tanner Lee Hrenchir. That long ago, Down syndrome was still very foreign to most. They were told everything he wouldn’t do by the doctors. They spoke of institutionalizing him and were even told to have no more children because they too would be (pardon my language) retarded. Their dreams were crushed. However, they did not give up and decided even if every day would be a fight or a struggle, they would survive because they loved their son.

They found therapy and speech classes at a young age for Tanner. Tanner started growing and exceeding all their expectations. Then at age 10, they entered him into the great world of Special Olympics! After this simple enrollment into a program that seemed to be something he might like, our lives have NEVER BEEN THE SAME!

We have had so many special opportunities through Special Olympics. Most importantly though, Tanner and my family have found a place to call home. We have found a place where Tanner and grow and succeed on “his level.” We found a place where Tanner can be Tanner! Through this program, we have gained lifelong friends who have experienced the same struggles, battles, joys, and life situations that we have. As a sister, this is more than I ever dreamed of when we entered Tanner into this program.

Speaking of opportunities, Tanner has had the opportunity to travel to places near and far to compete. Tanner has had the great honor of sharing his courageous story about his life and Special Olympics to thousands of people over the past few years. Tanner also experienced what it felt like to be a National Games athlete in 2010 as a member of Team Missouri’s Track and Field team. Again, opportunities we never thought existed 22 years ago when he participated in his first bowling practice.

Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver, Tanner Hrenchir, Senator Roy Blunt and Katie, Wanda and Jerry Hrenchir

Perhaps the most honorable and humbling opportunity to date was our Capitol Hill Day experience last week. Tanner, myself, and our parents, Jerry and Wanda, were all able to represent Special Olympics Missouri for this special day. The entire experience was filled with joy, nerves, shock, happiness, and most of all excitement. You could just feel the excitement in the air and buzz around town that we were there to make a statement!

Our main goal was to meet with representatives, senators, and other dignitaries to explain the benefits of our programs to people like Tanner with intellectual disabilities, to share our story, and to hopefully bring them on board to be co-sponsors of the EKS Act. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act has one main goal: to meet the persistent and critical needs of those with intellectual disabilities by providing funding for health, employment, and education.

Tanner Hrenchir, center, shares photos of his Special Olympics experiences with Senator Blunt and Tim Shriver

We were able to share our story to the offices of Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, Representative Bill Long, and Senator Roy Blunt. Tanner was able to give his speech in each office – which was a huge success –  and share pictures of him competing in sports through Special Olympics. Again, watching my brother share his life story with these individuals will be a memory I will never forget. To know he got to share his story at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., really can’t be beat! We were also fortunate enough to meet Timothy Shriver during our meeting with Roy Blunt. That put the icing on the cake for the Hrenchir family! To meet the son of our greatest hero, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and to be able to sit across the table and just have simple conversation with him was a complete joy. To meet the CEO of a program that will forever be home to our family was the greatest honor of all. Again, another experience we never expected!

We can only hope our stories touched the lives of those we got to speak to. We know that our lives have been changed by this amazing experience and we can never thank SOMO enough for asking us to represent them on this huge day. Another story for the books of Tanner Hrenchir … we hope for many more to come!

Katie Hrenchir is the Northwest Area Associate Director. She has worked for SOMO for five years. Reach her at hrenchir@somo.org. 

Mystie Lucast’s Journey to the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games

By Julia Ray and Debbie Lucast, Mystie’s aunt and mom

Mystie with Missouri’s other World Games delegate, Matt Krippel, at the Sendoff in Los Angeles

1/26/13

Mystie Lucast is in Seoul on her journey to the 2013 Special Olympics World Games. Yesterday the highlight of the day was visiting a school for students with special needs. The school is special because it has a skating rink. The students there learn to speed skate. They speed skated for the skate team and then the athletes had ice time and were able to skate for the students. It was great to be able to be on the ice.

1/27/13

Sunday they met the U. S. Ambassador at the Consulate. That was cool. All of Team USA went. They wore their dress clothes for the visit. Monday night Mystie Face Timed with her mom, aunts and cousin. It was great to be able to see everyone.

1/29/13

Today (Tuesday) the skate team heads to Alpensia for the Opening Ceremonies. Two family members can attend since there is tight security since the President of the Republic of Korea will be present. The skate team will be staying in a college dorm near their skate rink in Gangneung. It has been a wonderful trip so far.

1/30/13

Mystie, far right, during the Parade of Athletes at the Opening Ceremony

Last night after the long bus ride from Seoul we went to the Opening Ceremony. It was amazing. It took one hour and forty minutes for the 2000+ athletes from over 110 countries, including many countries going to their first winter world games.

After the parade of athletes, many welcoming remarks were given by people from Special Olympics and Korea. They had singers and dancers as well as a light show. Everything was done in Korean and English so everyone could understand. This was the first time Mystie was able to see her mom, even if it was from across the arena.

Today we get on the ice! Mystie will be skating her compulsaries.

1/31/13

Mystie did her compulsory routine yesterday and did a good job. I would say probably she placed second. I also learned that she only has one opportunity to earn a medal. They take the compulsory score and combine it with her artistic program for a total score. Therefore, figure skaters can only earn one medal.

Mystie visits the Healthy Athlete Village for free screenings

We got to visit with her before she competed, we found her in the hair and makeup room. After she was finished they let us go in the skaters dressing room. I got a huge hug and she wouldn’t let go. She was a little emotional but said she was having a good time. She hasn’t seen much of Korea or been able to shop, we still haven’t found any place to shop.

We are going exploring today and won’t be able to see Mystie. We’ve tried Korean food (really spicy, even when they say it is not). We’ve learned that if you don’t leave your hotel key in the slots inside the door, you won’t have any heat when you get back, so the room is really cold, of course the floors are tile and really cold. I think we have finally adjusted to the time difference and caught up from our 24 hours without sleep.

The Egyptian skiers are seeing snow for the first time. They practiced back home on sand dunes. Can you imagine! It’s surprising to see some of the delegations. There’s are athletes here from countries where individuals with disabilities are put to death or shunned. Some countries like England don’t even have a delegation but other tiny counties have two or three athletes. Walking around the village makes you smile.

After the Games 

Mystie shows off her silver medal. Photo by SOMO athlete Kayla Ezell.

Mystie says, “The end of the 2013 World games came so quickly. We stopped in Los Angeles on our way back to adjust to the time changes. I made so many friends at the games. I now have friends from across the United States and Canada. After I returned home, Pastor Darrell asked me to come up in front of the church and asked me how scared I was to skate in front of so many people. I told them that I was not scared because I had a church praying for me.”

The World Games are such a special memory.

Seeing Mystie compete on the ice and do her best was amazing. she was so poised in dealing with the many people who wanted their picture taken with her. Some were even asking for her autograph on her trading cards, which was very special to watch. During the awards ceremony, she stood on the sidelines and congratulated everyone. She was excited to see her friends win medals or even ribbons.

Mystie started her adventure as a young teenager and finished it with such poise and grace it was hard to believe she is only 14. She is happy to b back at school and with her family. These special memories will be with all of us for a lifetime.

The Koreans were special hosts and had a massive network of volunteers everywhere to help you out. The buses ran like clockwork to go between the villages and they had wonderful cultural events and tours for the families. We were able to watch Mystie each time she skated and attend the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Los Angeles has their work cut out for them to live up to the standards of the 2013 Special Olympics World Games!

Award of Excellence: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Each year, the Special Olympics Missouri Board of Directors chooses to recognize one organization who has made a lasting impact on our program. It is the highest honor bestowed by SOMO. The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame was chosen as the 2012 recipient.

Members of a task force formed by our Special Olympics Missouri Board of Directors began having conversations about a Hall of Fame for Special Olympics Missouri in 1996.  Their recommendations, followed by board approval, established the Hall of Fame awards process, which still today in 2012, is the highest award we give to an athlete and a volunteer.  Upon the creation of this award, we reached out to Jerald Andrews, Executive Director of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.  The museum, which is located in Springfield, recognizes and honors the best in Missouri sports.  It was our hope to be recognized among them.  With Jerald’s leadership and the support of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, we were allowed to create a permanent wall in their museum which recognizes our SOMO athletes and volunteers.  The wall display allows us to showcase pictures of our program.  Each year we add names to the plaque on the wall honoring our inductees.  These names date back to our first inductees in 1997.

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame hosted our Induction Ceremony from 2000 to 2004 in their facility at no charge to us.  This allowed more family members to attend the ceremony.  Jerald and other members of the staff served as the Masters of Ceremonies.

Their support goes even further in that they incorporate our inductees into their Enshrinement Ceremonies each year.  Our inductees are invited to all functions and recognized on stage with a plaque.

In 2010, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame selected our President & CEO, Mark Musso, to be a member of their Enshrinement class.  Mark was honored in all the activities that surrounded the enshrinement.  He was given the chance to speak to the group of over 1,000 and recognized in program books, trading cards and on calendars and posters.  There is no way to place a value on the publicity that SOMO received by being part of a distinguished class of Missouri sports figures.

In addition, through our relationship with the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, we have been a benefitting charity of the Price Cutter Charity Golf Championship since 1992, a donation which has totaled more than $500,000.

The partnership we have with Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is one of the strongest we have in the state.  Their acceptance of SOMO as a sports program happened immediately in 1997.  The partnership has grown stronger every year since that time.  We enjoy a relationship with Jerald still today and thank him for his years of service to our SOMO Board of Directors and former SEF Board.

It is an honor to recommend that the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame be honored as our Award of Excellence winner for 2012.

Ray Lauer and Linda Wiederholt Inducted into SOMO Hall of Fame

The SOMO Hall of Fame was created in 1997 by the Board of Directors as a way to recognize longevity and achievement of athletes and volunteers within the organization. A voting committee, appointed by the SOMO Chairperson of the Board, is responsible for reviewing all nominations and voting on no more than two inductees in each category.  To be inducted, finalists must be named on 75% of the ballots. A permanent display, housed in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield, features photos of each year’s Special Olympics Missouri Hall of Fame inductees.

The 2012 inductees were announced Jan. 19 at our awards banquet in Branson, and they were enshrined in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Jan. 27 in Springfield. You can read the prerequisites and download a nomination form on our website.

Ray Lauer, Hillsboro (volunteer)

As a Deputy Chief with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Ray became involved with the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics Missouri in the early 1990s. He eventually became the Chair of the LETR, a position which he held for seven years. During that time, the LETR doubled the funds it raised in Missouri and reached the $1,000,000 mark for the first time. Also during his tenure, Missouri was chosen as host for the International LETR Conference. Hosted in St. Louis, the conference launched Missouri’s LETR permanently onto the international stage, setting a high bar for future international conferences.

After his retirement in October of 2003, he served on the Board of Directors until 2011. During that time, he served on the executive committee of the Board as secretary. He remains active in the LETR and on the St. Louis Over the Edge committee, as well as volunteering at the Polar Plunge.

It is through Ray’s quiet demeanor and selfless attitude that he has had the greatest impact. An intangible impact is that through his example, all of his children followed in his footsteps in many ways. All three sons and one daughter became involved, either by volunteering at events or fundraising. His son Matt served as a staff member and his son Paul won the Wheels for Winners Raffle in 2011. Ray’s involvement will continue as a fan of SOMO as his grandson, Andy, born in 2008 with Down syndrome, looks forward to one day being a Special Olympics athlete.

Linda Wiederholt, Kansas City (volunteer)

Besides time with her family or with her job as a 6th grade math teacher, the vast majority of Linda’s time and energy is spent enhancing SOMO.

Linda became involved with SOMO in the 1980s because her brother, Daniel Schieber, joined a program in the Northwest Area. Linda once said “Special Olympics for me has been giving back to a program that has made my brother’s life. Friendships have grown throughout the state so much that I now refer to Special Olympics families as my extended family.”

She has been actively involved in both the Northwest Area and in the Kansas City Metro Area for decades. She participates in every facet of Special Olympics, including coaching, fundraising, mentoring, leadership, planning committees and recruiting athletes, volunteers, Unified Partners and youth. Linda is a member of the KC Metro Games Management Team. Even if she is actively coaching a sport, she takes part as the GMT and is always the first person there to help set up an the last to leave. She coaches and attends SOMO’s Sports Camp each year in Mexico, Mo. Linda attends and assists with all major Missouri events each year, including district, regional and state competitions and Leadership Conference. She attends and assists with KC Metro Area fundraising including the Dare to Dream Golf Scramble, Broadway Bridge Run, Polar Plunge and fundraising for her team. She is an active adviser on the Youth Activation Committee and Project UNIFY. Linda prepared and trained athletes for the Special Olympics National Conference held in Kansas City in 2000 and was a Global Messenger trainer.

Linda has expanded the Park Hill district from seven athletes to more than 100, and she continues to seek out and take on more athletes every sports season. She has greatly expanded the sports program, coordinating basketball, softball, track and field, tennis, bocce, bowling, golf and soccer.

She has been recognized for her excellence within SOMO through winning the Outstanding Coach award in 2007. She was selected  twice to coach Team Missouri for National Games. Her birth family, the Schiebers, won Outstanding Family in 2001, and in 2012 her “married life” family, the Wiederholts, were nominated for Outstanding Family in the KC Metro Area.

Do you know someone deserving of this award? Download a nomination form for the athlete category or non-athlete category. 

2012 SOMO Annual Award Winners

Matt Cepeda, Emily Reyes, Terri Dallas and the Rash family were all recognized for their outstanding contributions to Special Olympics Missouri at the 2013 Leadership Conference Jan 19-20 in Branson. Each year, Special Olympics Missouri salutes those who have made significant contributions to the Special Olympics movement throughout the past year. Each area nominee is submitted for statewide recognition, and the overall winners were announced at the Leadership Conference.

OUTSTANDING ATHLETE: Matthew Cepeda, Kansas City Metro Area

At competitions Matt can always been seen trying his hardest and cheering for others. What is most impressive about Matt is his ability to be a leader in his school. He has become a huge voice around Missouri, but especially in Kansas City, for recruiting youth volunteers. He is the chairman for his school’s Fan Club and is the co-chair of Missouri’s Youth Activation Council. Beyond all this, Matt gives 100 percent to whatever sport he is playing, which says volumes since he plays eight sports!

OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER: Emily Reyes, Southwest Area

During her freshman year in high school in 2005, Emily volunteered to help with her school’s Special Olympics team. After that introduction, he became certified to coach bowling, basketball and track. Since that time, she has served as a counselor at Athlete Sports Camp and participated in many special events. Emily recently finished her four year term on the National Youth Activation Council for Special Olympics, Inc. She’s traveled the country as part of this prestigious group. She continues to stay involved even while in college.

OUTSTANDING COACH: Terri Dallas, St. Louis Metro Area

For the past 25 years, Terri has coached SOMO athletes. She has brought countless athletes out of their shell and introduced them to a new way to make friends and build confidence through sports. She organizes and coaches six sports and hundreds of athletes in Jefferson County. When one of Terri’s athletes qualified for the 2011 World Games in bocce, Terri was inspired to begin fundraising for a state-of-the-art bocce court for all the athletes through her program.

OUTSTANDING FAMILY: The Rash family, Northwest Area 

The success of the Lake Viking Polar Plunge is due in large part to the Rash Family. Six years ago they stepped up to start the plunge at Lake Viking. Both Judy and James pour their heart and soul into the planning and fundraising for this event. James has become a coach for their son Pierce’s basketball and flag football teams. The whole family continues to seek new ways to improve our program and offer opportunities for everyone to participate.

Congratulations to all of our winners! Their outstanding contributions helped make this a great year for Special Olympics Missouri.

Bernard Simons, Melissa Vighi, Marty Willadson Join SOMO Board of Directors

Special Olympics Missouri is proud to announce that three new members have been named to the SOMO Board of Directors.

Bernard Simons
Director, Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities
Jefferson City 

Bernard (Bernie) Simons is the Director of Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities and has worked in the field for 40 years. He started his career as a direct support professional working in a center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was through his work that he became aware of Special Olympics in Rhode Island. Over the years Bernie has seen many, many, people with various disabilities proudly participate in their states’ Special Olympics.

As the Director of Missouri’s Division of Developmental Disabilities for the past six years he has worked to redesign and strengthen the Developmental Disabilities Division in the face of numerous budget constraints. He has redesigned the regional structure, increased local case management to 88 counties (53 percent of the state), strengthened the quality enhancement system, improved communications with community providers, state associations and county boards and sponsored regional presentations on the accreditation process.  In addition, he was instrumental in developing the Partnership of Hope waiver. More than 32,000 Missourians receive services and support through the Developmental Disabilities system and almost 600 people have transitioned from the Habilitation Centers to community supports and all admissions to the Centers have been discontinued.

In addition to serving on the SOMO Board, Bernie also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS) and has done so for more than four years.

His prior experience includes being a Regional Director, Assistant Regional Director, Superintendent and direct support staff. He also worked as a consultant with numerous states on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and U.S. Department of Justice issues.  He received his bachelor’s degree from Our Lady of Providence and his master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Boston University.

Bernie and his wife, Janet, have been married for more than 33 years. Janet also works with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as a Certified Developmental Disabilities Nurse. They have three daughters and four grandchildren, living in Maine, North Carolina and Rhode Island. In their free time Bernie and Janet enjoy traveling, reading and walking.

Melissa Vighi
Attorney at Law, Lashly & Baer, P.C.
St. Louis 

In 2011, Melissa Vighi began providing pro bono legal services to Special Olympics Missouri for leasing and bylaw governance matters. While working with SOMO’s administration and cheering on athletes at area games, she was moved by the courage, commitment, dedication, enthusiasm and energy of the SOMO organization. Melissa has since been inspired to lend her skills and experience to SOMO’s mission by serving on the Board of Directors.

Melissa graduated with a B.S., magna cum laude, in Business Administration from Marquette University and was initiated into the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Saint Louis University where she was initiated into the Order of the Woolsack, served as Lead Articles Editor of the Saint Louis University Public Law Review and received an American Jurisprudence Award in Antitrust Law.

Melissa’s law practice at Lashly & Baer in St. Louis focuses on the representation of public entities and charitable institutions to foster real estate development, economic opportunities and tax-exempt financing and participation in governance, business, management and operational matters and contract negotiations.

Melissa has volunteered with the Junior League of St. Louis and served as a deacon with the Glendale Presbyterian Church, participating in numerous service and community outreach projects. She has been active on the membership committee of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) St. Louis. She provides pro bono legal services to non-profit and governmental organizations in need of her transactional experience.

Melissa is married to Pete Gullborg, a commercial litigator at the law firm of Pitzer Snodgrass, and together they enjoy taking care of their rescue dogs and learning how to ballroom dance.

Marty Willadsen
Vice President of Operations and Administration, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame 
Battlefield 

Marty Willadsen spent the first 15 years after graduating from Missouri Valley College as a high school teacher and coach. From there Willadsen was hired as an estimator/ salesman for a steel fabricator in Springfield, Mo. He spent 10 years there, the last seven as a project manager. In 2004, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame offered Marty employment as Associate Director of Sponsor Development. Two years later he was named Director of Operations and on Jan. 1, 2008, he was promoted to Vice President of Operations and Administration. In that capacity, Willadsen oversees the day-to-day operations of the Hall of Fame and the administration of its employees. He is also instrumental in the planning and execution of the many events which the Hall of Fame hosts throughout the state.

His first experiences with Special Olympics came in 1978-79 when he served as an on-field volunteer at Special Olympics events while attending college in Marshall, Mo. His long-term relationship with SOMO started with his participation with the Price Cutter Charity Championship in 2004, coinciding with his employment at the Hall of Fame. Says Willadsen, “While I had very little interaction with the athletes themselves, it was the cadre of volunteers that impressed me. This was a group of people who were willing to do whatever necessary for the benefit of their athletes.”

Marty and his wife Lori, reside in Battlefield, Mo. and are very active in their church, where Lori is the Day Care Director and Marty plays bass guitar in the praise band. He enjoys golf, hunting, picture framing and St. Louis Cardinals baseball. They have one son, Andy who also lives in Battlefield.

The Special Olympics Missouri Board of Directors is responsible for setting the direction of the organization. They formulate and establish policies and oversee the President/CEO of the organization. The Board also protects the assets and resources of the organization and develops goals to meet our financial needs to ensure the long-range financial stability of the organization. You can meet the rest of our Board of Directors on our website.