Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org

Bethlehem Special Olympics Newsletter

Did you know?

Coaches need to update their certification by taking courses every few years otherwise they run the risk of not being eligible to coach.

Any donations to BSO or any of our sports programs should be reported to the treasurer. We want to thank the contributors with an official letter. They should be able to use these to get tax credits.

BSO Awards Picnic The Awards Picnic was GREAT! On June 28th athletes, coaches,

volunteers, family and friends gathered for the Annual BSO Awards

Picnic. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious and

Bicentennial Park in East Allen Township was really nice. We had a

volleyball game going, there was a basketball court on the other side

of the playground, a ball field on the other side of the pavilion and a

water balloon toss for those who wanted to participate. There was an

adjoining nature trail available for an inspiring walk for those who took

advantage of it. The park was easy to drive too. A BIG THANK

YOU to the Taylor Family’s Rita’s Ice store on Stefko Blvd. that

donated all that DELICIOUS cherry, mango and lemon ice, and to the

Talavara family who made all the arrangements, and to everyone who

helped set up the picnic. If anyone knows of a better park for our

picnic please let the family coordinator (Maria Talavera) know about it

so that she can evaluate it for next year. (pictures on p 2&3)

August/September 2014

Bethlehem Special Olympics PO Box 536 Bethlehem, PA 18016-0536 Phone: 610-264-3616

www.BethlehemSOPA.org

Inside this issue:

Awards Picnic……… p 1,2&5

BSO Rock&Roll Dance p 2-4

2014 USA Games………p 1&7

Celebrity Scoop @ Rita’s p 6

Mark Your Calendar……. p 6

Volunteer opportunities….p 7

Sports Camp 2014…….. p 8-9

Management Team ……..p 10

Training Schedule……… p 11

Thanks to ………...…….. p 11

Special Olympics 2014 USA Games This summer, Special Olympics athletes from all over America

went to New Jersey June 14-21 to compete in 16 different sports in

the 2014 USA Summer Games. We at BSO sent four of our athletes

along with about 250 other Pennsylvania athletes to compete. Our

athletes competed in Aquatics, Gymnastics and Powerlifting. The PA

athletes traveled by bus to Valley Forge PA on June 13 and then

Mercer County New Jersey the next day, and returned on June 21.

BSO Athletes Simone Williams and Zarrah Vitale

competed in gymnastics, Michael Semler in aquatics and Joni

Talavera in Powerlifting. Coaches Alice Moat and Fred Knauss were

Team PA aquatics coaches, and Coach Casey Skoglund was Team PA

Head Gymnastics Coach. All BSO athletes performed very well at

National Games. See pictures on page 5.

BSO Rock and Roll Dance and Basket Raffle Fundraiser - Sept. 12, 2014 at Leithsville Fire Hall.

Participate in the basket raffle even if you can’t attend the dance event.

See raffle and dance ticket information inside on pages 2-4!

Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org p. 2

2014 BSO AWARDS PICNIC - HAPPY FACES

Sports MVPs

Aquatics-Rookie: Cory Martino

Aquatics-Advanced: Briana Horvath

Basketball: Marcus Tompkins

Bowling: Denise Frey

Golf: Michael Sopko

Artistic Gymnastics: Zarrah Vitale and

Simone Williams

Rhythmic Gymnastics: Heather Gold

Figure Skating: Matthew Siemon

Powerlifting-Competitor: Chris Spairana

Powerlifting-Participant: Brian Picone

Roller Skating: Simone Williams

Snowshoeing: Chris Wasiewicz

Soccer-Skills: Dedra Sobol

Soccer-5v5: Kyle Lahr

Soccer-7v7: Paul Ahner-Hein

Soccer-11v11: Marcus Tompkins

Softball-Skills: Robert Bernhart

Softball: Paul Ahner-Hein

Volleyball: Lisa Gouker

RAFFLE ENTRIES

AVAILABLE You may participate in the basket

raffle even if you do not attend the

dance. Simply use the form on the

next two pages for your entry.

Select the prize raffles you want to

enter, purchase tickets ($10 for 10

tickets - must be in groups of 10),

and enclose your money with the

entry form mailed to:

Bethlehem Special Olympics

P. O. Box 536

Bethlehem PA 18016.

Hurry! Advance ticket

entries are due Sept. 1.

Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org p. 3

2014 BSO AWARDS PICNIC 2014 BSO AWARDS PICNIC

Don Eber Volunteer Award - Barbara Bonner

Gerry Miller Parent Volunteer Award - Deb & Dennis Bednarcik

Dan Morrison/Deb Kohl Coach Award - Bob Sehee

Kelly Frankenfield Athlete Spirit Award - Cory Squitieri

BSO Athlete Hall of Fame Award – Nathan Boyle

Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org p. 6

Mark your Calendar for these Upcoming Events: Keep up with events! Visit our web page at www.BethlehemSOPA.org or see “events” on the

Bethlehem Special Olympics Facebook page... more events are being planned.

September 1 - Deadline for Pre-event Raffle entries for Rock & Roll Dance September 12 - BSO Rock & Roll Dance and Basket Raffle - at Leithsville Fire Hall - see Caren Hogan

for tickets FALL SPORTS TRAINING - see Training Schedule, next page September 27 - Morningstar Rotary 5K race to benefit BSO . Contact Louise Tusak, 610-865-7730 if

you can help at the event cheering for runners, handing out water, etc. Saturdays, October 4, 11, 18, 25 -- Haunted Woods, Zionsville PA - volunteers needed for happy

haunting, traffic direction, etc. Contact Donna Boyle if interested. SET UP DATE Saturday, Sept. 20th. Donations of outdoor Halloween decorations needed.

Sun. Oct. 5 - Eastern Fall Sectionals, E. Stroudsburg University October 11 - Freemansburg Halloween Parade - Contact Donna Boyle 610-317-6033 for details. Meet

at Donna’s house at noon to line up. Hot dog picnic follows the parade. Rain Date 10/12. Nov. 7-9 - Fall Festival, Villanova University December 13 - BSO Christmas Holiday Party - NEW LOCATION - more info to follow January 17, 2015 - Lehigh Valley Polar Plunge, Scott Park, Easton PA. Join the Bethlehem Clowns

team and plunge, or just support one of our plungers.

BSO Celebrity Scoop

On Wednesday, July 2, BSO athlete friends served sweet treats at Rita’s on Stefko Blvd. Even with some rain and clouds, it was good fun and good eats when we served Rita’s water ice, soft serve and such to our neighbors and friends.

Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org p. 7

National Games was a fantastic experience for our athletes. They ,

had opening and closing ceremonies that were like a rock concert. Their

time there was full of travel, competition, special events and fun. Next

time you see Zarrah, Simone, Joni or Michael give them a big

CONGRATULATIONS.

We have volunteer opportunities available, contact Dana Lindsey,

BSO Volunteer Coordinator, 267-221-7740, if interested in young

athletes, coaching aquatics, and coaching bowling.

SOPA/SOYO MULTI-SPORTS TRAINING CAMP 2014

Thirty-two athletes from Bethlehem were part of the 190 athletes attending SOPA/SOYO Sports

camp August 10-16th. This training camp has offered sports training to Special Olympics PA

athletes for more than 30 years. Bethlehem athletes traveled by bus to Camp Antiochian, near

Ligonier PA for the week-long camp.

A typical day at sports camp starts with breakfast in the dining room, then two-hours of training in

your primary sport. Athletes give their choice of primary sport assignment on the application form.

Primary sports include Aquatics (Swimming), Athletics (Track & Field), Basketball, Bowling, Flag

Football, Golf, Lifetime Sports, Softball, Soccer, Tennis, and Volleyball. Then a short break and

lunch in the dining room.

The afternoon includes hour-long rotations to different sports each day of the week. Evening

activities include a dance, talent show, movie night and one off-site trip. This year the off-site trip

was to the Altoona Curve AA Baseball Game vs. the Trenton Thunder. The Trenton Thunder won

4-3, and we all enjoyed the fireworks after the game.

Athletes stay in cabins and are teamed up with SOYO (teen) volunteers and coaches from our own

program. This year it was a bit rainy and cool during the week. In fact, sports activities were

moved to the local YMCA for one of the days. But still it was a lot of fun and the sun was out for the

competition day on Friday. There were lots of tears at the farewell dance on Friday night when we

started counting the days until the start of sports camp 2015 (359 more days).

The teens from NAC Teen SOYO (Society of Orthodox Youth Organizations) work to raise money

all year long to cover the cost of the camp. Our local program pays only for transportation to

camp. The SOYO members from all over the US and sometimes Canada and Mexico also

volunteer during the week of camp to help provide sports instruction and training.

If you would like to know more about camp, just ask these athletes who went this year: Mike

Anders, Kathy Batz, Trisha Bednarcik, Meagan Bickel, Adam Bieniek, Joel Blazure, Doug

Boyle, Nathan Boyle, Eric Clemente, Tabitha Dawkins, Marguerite Ferguson, Craig Garr ,

Karla Garr, Daniel Hogan, Briana Horvath, Amanda Knauss , Tonia Johnson , Kathy Kucey,

Donald Laudenslager, Rachel MacDonald, Joseph Rosa, Michael Semler, Alison Sehee,

Mercedes Semler, Dedra Sobol, Cory Squitieri, Hilary Stonewall, Angelica Viant, Chris

Wasiewicz, Josh Weirback, Nicholas Williams, and Audrey Yanachek

MANY THANKS also to BSO Coaches Jio Adorno, Michael Hernandez, Fred Knauss, Jamie

Mink, and Alice Moat, and those coaches from other counties who helped BSO: Ann Ohmott,

Alexandra Fahoome, Stacy Demshock, and Laila Taweel. They made it possible for our athletes to attend. Coach Jamie Mink served as asst. clinician for Flag Football and Coach Alice

and Coach Fred were the aquatics clinicians during the week.

Sports camp 2015 will be held August 9-15. Interest forms are due at the beginning of April to Alice

Moat, and applications are due in May. If you are interested in going next year, make sure you

watch the BSO Website, Facebook page, email, newsletter and handouts at practice to sign up for

camp.

COACHES from BSO are needed to ensure that our athletes are able to attend camp. We must

provide one coach for every four athletes we take to camp (same sex). Coaches must be 18 years

old and willing to participate in the week-long sports activities. You do not need to be sports

experts (the people there will show you how to help with the sports).

Contact Alice Moat 610-264-3616 if interested in being a coach in 2015!!

Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org p. 8

SPORTS CAMP 2014 PICTURES!

Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org p. 10

Bethlehem Special Olympics Management Team Alice Moat Manager 610-264-3616 manager@BethlehemSOPA.org Bob Sehee Assistant Manager 610-419-3285 bso.sehee@gmail.com Connie Berni Social Media Coordinator* rockon632@yahoo.com Barbara Bonner Secretary 610-681-8696 b.bonner@att.net Tom Ehrlacher Database Coordinator 610-262-9774 tjehrlacher@yahoo.com Chris Field Treasurer 484-894-6869 treasurer@BethlehemSOPA.org Fred Knauss Competition Coordinator 610-662-1952 eaglescoutfred@gmail.com Steve Kucey Athlete Representative 610-533-9677 Emily Mulicka Athlete Mentor* emilymulicka@yahoo.com

Sue Reddinger Fundraising Coordinator 484-554-1191 ladydragon@aim.com Dana Lindsey Volunteer Coordinator 267-221-7740 bso.dana@gmail.com Gretchen Siemon Athlete Registration Coord. 610-868-0180 gsiemon@ptd.net Jose Talavera PR Coordinator 610-248-0444 josetalav1@verizon.net Maria Talavera Family Coordinator 610-866-0127 Louise Tusak Special Events Coordinator* 610-865-7730 pingirons@verizon.net Pete Wilson BSO Website Coordinator* webmaster@BethlehemSOPA.org Amanda Kunkelman Training Coordinator 610-360-3239 mandylyn717@gmail.com

Open Outreach Coordinator * non-voting positions

member. Chris Field is our new Treasurer. He has worked in the

Lehigh Valley for over 20 years at the old First Valley Bank, Good

Shepherd Rehab and currently with Boas Surgical. He is looking

forward to a wedding in 2015 to fiancé Patti. He has 3 children,

Rachel, Ryan and Josh and a grandson, Samuel. He enjoys

watching the Phillies and Redskins and participating in both

baseball and softball leagues." Please thank both Dana or Chris

for the generous giving of their time to help us train, compete

and spend time with our athletes.

ATHLETES, turn in your Penn State Summer Games sports

UNIFORMS. Contact your coach or contact Louise Tusak (contact

information below)

Dana Lindsey is our new Volunteer Coordinator. Welcome her to

the management team and a greater involvement in our BSO family.

She has been an aquatics coach for the past year. Now she will be

responsible for recruitment, retention, and the recognition of our

program volunteers. In her spare time she enjoys swimming, running,

biking, hiking, photography (she’s good at it), cooking, and is a

beginner to knitting and crocheting.

Welcome to another new management team

Remember to check the BSO website often for updates: www.BethlehemSOPA.org p. 11

SPORTS TRAINING SCHEDULE AUG TO DEC 2014 Start Dates, Times, Locations subject to change. Please contact coach to confirm your

participation and that the information has not changed prior to listed start date.

SPORT & SEASON DAY AND TIME LOCATION/ADDRESS COACH CONTACT

AQUATICS

STARTING 9/16

Tuesdays

Rookies: 6-7 PM

Advanced: 7-8 PM

Liberty High School Pool

1115 Linden Street

Bethlehem

Jeanie Earich 610-865-0876

Fred Knauss 610-264-0237

Aquatics@BethlehemSOPA.org

GOLF

March—Oct. Sundays and

Wednesdays

Bethlehem Executive 9 hole

course - Through Nov.

Ron Lewis

610-759-6837

POWERLIFTING

STARTING 9/2

to May

Tuesdays

6 PM to 7 PM

No practices in June

July or August

Freedom High School

Weight Room

3149 Chester Ave.,

Bethlehem

Ron Lobb

484-542-0432

Rollerskating Wednesdays 60 Lehigh st. Whitehall PA

Whitehall Skateaway

Amanda Kunkleman

610-790-7543

mandylyn717@gmail.com

Soccer

August to Nov

Sundays

3:00 - 5:00 PM

Hanover Twp. Fields

Harriet Ln. & Crawford

Dr., Bethlehem

Donna Boyle

610-317-6033

mamasroom@enter.net

Volleyball

Wed 8/25,6-8

-------------

Mondays starting

9/8. 6 to 8 PM

Bethlehem Twp. Comm. Ctr

--------------------

Northeast Middle School,

Bethlehem

Amanda Sehee

610-419-3285

sehee1@rcn.com

YOUNG ATHLETES

8-week training

session for athletes

2 to 7 yrs old

Coming Fall 2014

Bob Sehee

bsosehee@gmail.com

Many Thanks To …

Stefano’s Restaurants for sponsoring the Stefano’s

Golf Tournament, held each August to benefit both

Bethlehem and Lehigh County Special Olympics.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS OATH

Let me win, but if I cannot win,

Let me be brave in the attempt!

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of

Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship

with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

Created by The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation.

Authorized and Accredited by Special Olympics International for the Benefit of Citizens with Intellectual Disabilities

Bethlehem Special Olympics

PO Box 536

Bethlehem, PA 18016-0536

NON-PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Lehigh Valley, PA 18002-9652

PERMIT NO 492

MAIL TO: CURRENT RESIDENT OR

Pennsylvania - Bethlehem PO Box 536

Bethlehem, PA 18016