The Official Publication of Special Olympics South Dakota - Summer 2011

Inside This Issue Page 3-5 • State Summer Games Page 6 • State Basketball Page 7 • Scarf Project Page 8-10 • LETR • Heroes Behind The

Badge • Penny Wars • Polar Plunge Page 11 • World Games Athletes Page 12 • Save The Date Page 13 • Award Winners Page 14-15 • Development • Ground Breaking • STWTETW

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Created by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Authorized and Accredited by Special Olympics International for the Benefit of Citizens with Intellectual Disabilities

Special Thanks To These Major Sponsors

Thank You To These Official Partners

Contact Us 305 West 39th Street Sioux Falls, SD 57105

1.800.585.2114 or 1.605.331.4117 Fax: 1.605.331.4328

www.sosd.org

State Staff Darryl Nordquist

CEO/Executive Director

Melanie Frosch Sports Director

Johna Thum Special Events Director

Todd Bradwisch Torch Run Liaison

Katie O’Brien Volunteer Coordinator

Twila Hansen Office Manager

Board of Directors Kim Benning - Redfield (Chair)

Jim Boadwine - Sioux Falls (Vice Chair) Abby Schmidt - Sioux Falls (Sec) Lisa Claus - Sioux Falls (Treas)

Clark Baker - Sioux Falls Thomas Brude - Sioux Falls

Tom Farrell - Sioux Falls Dr. Mark Harlow - Rapid City

Matt Hasner - Watertown Jim Hornby - Brookings

Kevin Johnson - Aberdeen Myles Kennedy - Spearfish Gayle Kludt - Gettysburg

Maynard Konechne - Kimball Mike Markley - Aberdeen Wolf Migge - Watertown Judy Miller - Beresford

Ron Stewart - Rapid City Julie Williams - Gettysburg Denelle Wilson - Sioux Falls

TORCH Editor Johna Thum - Special Events Director

Torch Run Director Sgt Joel Perry - Brookings

Special Olympics Get Into It consists of online re-sources that include lessons, activities, videos, athlete stories and supplemental materials. At the core of Get Into It are age-appropriate lessons designed to be taught in the context of class periods. Activities with ties to service learning are completed in a classroom or community setting, as part of a club, an after school activity or a community based event and include in-volvement with local Special Olympics Programs whenever possible.

Visit the website below for important information: https://getintoit.specialolympics.org/

June 25–July 4 2011 World Summer Games Athens, Greece

July 11 & 12 State Equestrian Huron

Sept 17 & 18 State Softball Brookings

Oct 14 NE Area Unified & Singles Bowl Aberdeen Oct 15 SE Area Singles Bowl Mitchell Oct 21 BH Area Unified & Singles Bowl Rapid City Oct 22 SE Area Unified Bowl Mitchell Nov 11-13 State Traditional Bowl Aberdeen Nov. 19 & 20 State Unified Bowl Sioux Falls

Aug 27 & 28 Bash To The Colonies Fundraiser Yankton

Sept 23 Truck Convoy Poker Tournament Sioux Falls Sept 24 Truck Convoy Fundraiser Sioux Falls Oct 1 Bocce Ball Demonstration Sioux Falls

2011

2012

Feb 27 Scarf Project Deadline March 9 & 10 State Basketball Yankton April 25 Mission Spring Games Mission April 27 BH Area Spring Games Rapid City April 27 NE Area Aquatics Watertown April 28 BH Area Aquatics (Tentative) Sturgis May 4 NE Area Spring Games Watertown May 4 SE Area Aquatics (Tentative) Sioux Falls May 5 SE Area Spring Games (Tentative) Brandon May 17-19 State Summer Games Spearfish

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Our 43rd annual State Summer Games may just go down as the best ever. The festivities were kicked off with a high energy Opening Ceremonies featuring an emotion filled slideshow to the Miley Cyrus tune “The Climb”.

The weather report for Friday and Saturday had us fearing the po-tential for the cancellation of events. Thankfully, although some activities were moved inside on Friday, competition went off with-out a hitch.

A Note To Our Volunteers...

V olunteers do everything there is to do for Special Olympics and more. You are fundraisers, cheerleaders, administrators,

chauffeurs, chaperones, trainers, coaches, policy makers, trash collectors, referees, food servers, score keepers and everything in-between.

You serve without salary, without recognition, without honors or awards. Special Olympics could not do without you - your dedica-tion, your work, and your love.

Thank you volunteers…. You represent the highest values of the human spirit and we are grateful for your service!

A Note To Our Coaches…

W ithout you, Special Olympics South Dakota would not exist… period.

Your responsibilities are many and your perks are few. You coach through rain or shine (but who am I kidding, most of-ten it’s rain). You drive through blizzards to tournaments and live on sack lunches and juice boxes.

You stay in dorms and you shower under conditions you swore you would never tolerate again after those college days. Your work is far from glamorous. But you do it any-way, without pay or complaint.

We often take for granted the very people who deserve our gratitude the most. Rest assured we do not take you for granted. Thank you for making a difference and know we appreciate you!

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...May someone be as kind to you as you have been to us.

American Legion Auxiliary

American Legion

HYVEE ** ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE ** SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT BIERSCHBACH EQUIPMENT & SUPPLY ** CASEY’S ** SUBWAY STEVE HOWARD FITNESS ** SERVALL TOWEL & LINEN SUPPLY

LACEY’S PORTABLE RESTROOMS & ROLL OFFS

VFW Ladies Auxiliary

VFW

Washington High School

South Dakota Cattle Women

NOVAK

SANITARY SERVICE

Big Top Tent Rentals

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Thank You Event Directors Aquatics

High Jump

Pentathlon

Powerlifting

Race Walking

Running Long Jump

Shot Put

Soccer (Team)

Soccer (Skills)

Softball Throw

Standing Long Jump

Starter

Tennis Ball Throw

Track

Volleyball

Medical

Track Announcer

Barb Sandoval

Chad VanderPoel

Barb Sandoval

Darla Frederick, Joel Lubovich

Chad VanderPoel

Tiffany Rapp

Michelle Carter

Ginger Parson

Gordon Stewart, Tasia Murray

John Robbins, Deb Kuntz

Brittany Grode

Dick Benning

Erin Jones

Mike Hillbrands

LeDawn Netsje

Terry Truax

Larry Yuen

Thank You Organizing Committee

Co-Games Directors Lyle Farrand, Steve Jacobson

Athlete Village Sadie Mahlen, Chad Kriech

Awards Abby Schmidt

Food Service Carol Jacobs

Hospitality Jen Devine

Logistics Lisa Claus

Torch Run Director Joel Perry

Volunteers Tori Hofer, Katie O’Brien

INSIDE THE NUMBERS Number of athlete participants

Aquatics: 177 Athletics: 447

Powerlifting: 40

Race Walking: 57 Soccer (Skills): 87 Soccer (Team): 74

Volleyball: 44

Total Registered Athletes: 494 Total Delegations: 30

A new addition to our State Summer Games line-up was the inaugural “Brave In The Attempt” 5k run and 3k walk. A huge

thank you to Rachel Hensley for organizing this event.

Look for race information coming next spring.

Thank you to the following sponsors for your support and donations!

The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® program was developed in 1996. This program is designed to help Special Olympics ath-letes improve their health and fitness, leading to enhanced sports experience and improved well-being.

We are very pleased to have offered Healthy Athlete screenings in two disciplines during our State Summer Games:

Special Olympics Special Smiles is one of the core components of the Special Olympics Healthy Ath-letes initiative, created to focus attention on the overall health issues facing Special Olympics athletes. The mission of Special Smiles is to increase access to dental care for Special Olympics athletes, as well as all people with intellectual disabilities. The athletes are provided with hygiene education to help ensure they are doing an adequate job of brushing and flossing, as well as nutritional education to understand how their diet affects their total health. During the games, 84 athletes were evaluated.

FUNfitness is the comprehensive physical therapy component of the Special Olympics Healthy Ath-letes initiative. FUNfitness is designed to assess and improve flexibility, functional strength and bal-ance; to educate participants, families and coaches about the importance of flexibility, strength and balance; and to provide a hands-on opportunity for participants to learn about physical therapy. Forty six athletes were assessed during the games.

Below and Right: FUNfitness clinicians in action

Thank you clinicians and volunteers for sharing

your precious time and expertise.

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Our 28th annual State Basketball Tourna-ment was held in Yankton on March 11th and 12th. Twenty-two delegations com-prised of 494 athletes competed in Team, Unified, Skills, and Cheerleading.

Thank you to the city of Yankton and to our organizing committee:

Steve Adamson, Jason Bietz, Barb Clayton, Sheri Duke, Tracey Grotenhuis,

Lindsay Hovden, Todd Larson, Jan Putnam, Lisa Scheve, Chris Specht, Charles Tielke,

Chuck Turner, Byron Williams

YOU’RE THE BEST!

Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Black Sioux Falls All Stars Parkston Area Yankton Eagles Mitchell Black

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Blue Golden Eagles Blue Sioux Falls Force BHWS Wildcats Brandon Groove

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Bronze NHTC 02 Golden Eagles White Watertown 04 Sioux Falls Canaries

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Gold Huron NESC Sr. Brandon Valley SESDAC

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Green Sioux Falls Storm Aspire Sioux Falls Air Balls Watertown 02

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Red Sioux Falls Constrictors Aberdeen Thunder Yankton Lil rascals Sioux Falls Wild Cats Canton C-Hawks

Skills 1st 2nd

Division F1 Krier, Janelle Mashlan, Josie

1st 2nd

Division F2 Whitney, Addison Edelman, Autumn

1st 2nd

Division F3 Pederson, Kaylie Semmler, Angie

1st

Division F4 Conner, Kara

1st 2nd 3rd

Division F5 Williams, Amanda Mayer, Lisa Wren, Clara

1st 2nd 3rd

Division F6 Zuraff, Carol Auch, Diana Truong, Lay

1st 2nd 3rd

Division F7 Roberts, Rita Heimes, Ashley DeZeeuw, Cassie

1st

Division M1 Dykstra, Dakota

1st 2nd

Division M2 Dahl, Jarred Bielicki, Eddie

1st

Division F8 Olson, Chasidy

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Purple Sioux Falls Eliminators Vermillion Yankton Crushers Watertown 03

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Silver BHWS Cougars Brookings Bullets Golden Eagles Gold NHTC 01

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

White Oahe-Pierre Green Yankton Sharp Shooterz Golden Eagles Black Brookings Bulldogs

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Yellow Watertown 01 Oahe-Pierre White Sioux Falls Red Thunder Mitchell Gold

1st 2nd 3rd

Juniors Brookings Powerhouse NESC Jr. Brookings All Stars

Unified 1st 2nd 3rd

Division 1 Black Hills Bobcats 01 Black Hills Bobcats 02 BHSSC Project Friendship

1st 2nd 3rd

Division 2 Sioux Falls Unified Yankton Grinders Mitchell Unified

1st 2nd

Division M2B Bolyard, Adam Rowbotham, Carson

1st 2nd

Division M3 Bender, Stephen Johnson, Cameron

1st 2nd

Division M3B Steen, Dylan Frazee, Logan

1st

Division M4 Noyer, Billy

1st 2nd 3rd

Division M6 Warnock, Patrick Reiter, Ed Reed, Mike

Cheerleading 1st 2nd 3rd

Division A Sioux Falls Jesse’s Spicy Girls Oahe-Pierre

1st 2nd

Division B Mitchell NESC - Hayti

1st

Division M5 Haibeck, Michael

1st 2nd 3rd

Division M5B Diekmann, Kim Dvorak, Jonee Nguyen, Phuong

1st

Division M7 Olson, Jordan

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...May someone be as kind to you as you have been to us.

Subway Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

Riverfront Events Center

Peace Presbyterian Church Christ The King Lutheran Church Riverview Park Reformed Church

Calvary Baptist Church St Johns Lutheran Church

Yankton School District

Yankton Area Foundation

Riverside Productions

August 27 & 28, 2011

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IT’S A WRAP! At the end of 2010, SOSD joined more than 30 other Special Olympics Programs throughout the U.S. as participants in the first-ever Special Olympics Scarf Project.

A goal of 500 scarves was set. Much to our amazement, 939 scarves from 23* U.S. States and 28** South Da-kota communities were received.

*AL, AR, CA, GA, IA, KS, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PA, SD, VA, WA, WI, WY

**Aberdeen, Belle Fourche, Big Stone City, Brandon, Brookings, Buffalo, Canton, Chancellor, Dell Rapids, Hill City, Lead, Madison, Mitchell, Parker, Parkston, Pierre, Rapid City,

Redfield, Renner, Rutland, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Sturgis, Vermillion, Volga, Wagner, Wentworth, and Yankton.

These scarves were distributed to athletes, coaches and volunteers during our State Special Olympics Basketball Tournament.

A huge “THANK YOU” to all crocheters and knitters from across the state and nation who carefully crafted these scarves with skill and love. You have touched us with your kindness and generosity and we are grateful for your support!

IT’S A LAUNCH! SOSD has joined 38 other States as a participant in the 2012 Scarf Project.

In 2011, 26,000 scarves were distributed nation-wide, including 939 in South Dakota alone.

The Scarf Project began as an opportunity to provide a gift of welcome to the athletes of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Boise, Idaho. The Games Organizing Committee for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games requested donations of scarves for each of the 2,100 par-ticipating athletes, and by Games time, nearly 60,000 homemade scarves were produced from every state in the U.S. and 12 countries around the world.

This nation-wide initiative gives knitters and crocheters the opportunity to contribute to the Special Olympics Program(s) of their choice, and to know that in doing so, they were contributing to an unprecedented sense of unity and support for the Special Olympics athletes and the Movement as a whole.

Want To Get Involved?

Purchase Yarn: There are no guarantees that the yarns will always be in stock at every given store location, so you are encouraged to call ahead: Joann's / Michaels / Wal-Mart Hobby Lobby / Fred Meyer / Duckwall AC Moore / Pamida You can also purchase the yarn at shopredheart.com Official yarns and Colors: Red Heart Super Saver Cherry Red 0319 Red Heart Super Saver Soft Navy 0387 Red Heart Soft Navy 4604 Red Heart Soft Really Red 9925

PLEASE NOTE: You can choose to work with the Red Heart Super Saver or Red Heart Soft Yarns - or a combination of both - please just use both a red and a blue in your scarf design!

Deadline to Receive Scarves: February 27, 2012

Shipping Address:

Scarf Distribution Information: Scarves will be distributed at our State Bas-ketball Tournament to be held in Yankton on March 9 & 10, 2012

Scarf Goal: 900 Guidelines: Your scarf should be be-tween 54" and 60" long, and approxi-mately 6" wide. Please include fringe or other adornments within these measure-ments.

You are welcome to knit or crochet any pattern that you choose or want to create on your own. We encourage you to get creative!

For much for information visit: www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org

Now - September 1, 2011 SOSD 305 W. 39th St. Sioux Falls, SD 57105

After September 1, 2011 SOSD 800 E. I-90 Lane Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Red

Navy

This group of ladies from the Waterford senior retirement com-munity in Sioux Falls were just a few of the folks who graciously contributed to this project. Thank you, ladies!

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LETR Makes A Difference Law Enforcement Personnel and special guests became the Guardi-ans of the Flame when the Flame of Hope was lit on Sunday May 15th and carried through 17 South Dakota communities. Fifteen Law Enforcement Core Runners and two athlete runners Ashley Clark (Canton) and Matt Bosch (Aberdeen) shared their message of inspira-tion, gratitude and hope during their many stops along the way. The Flame made its way to Sioux Falls on May 19, and was deliv-ered to the Opening Ceremonies of our State Summer Games.

Our LETR participants work tirelessly to increase public awareness and to fundraise. In 2010 their goal of $400,00 was reached and suc-ceeded. With a goal of raising $450,000 this year they will do almost anything to secure money for our athletes.

The Torch Run began in 1981 when Wichita, Kansas, Police Chief Richard La-Munyon saw an urgent need to raise funds for and increase awareness of Special Olympics. The Torch Run has evolved into the largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle for Special Olympics.

At its most basic level, the Torch Run is an actual running event in which officers and athletes run the “Flame of Hope” to the Opening Ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions, State Games, National, and World Games.

At its most fully developed, the Torch Run initiative encompasses a variety of fund-raising vehicles in addition to the Torch Run itself. Our local law enforcement per-sonnel host multiple fundraising projects each year, including Polar Plunges, T-shirt sales, Truck Convoys, Tip-A-Cops, and various other zany endeavors.

Heroes Behind The Badge This annual holiday blood drive is a friendly competition between the Sioux Falls Fire Rescue and Sioux Falls Police Department to see who can recruit the most blood donors. The cops came through with a close victory this year. The real win-ners, however, are the folks who re-ceive this invaluable gift of life.

As their charity of choice, the Police Department made a $300 donation to SOSD. A huge thank you to the Police De-partment for your on-going support of SOSD!

Penny Wars This was the 5th consecutive year the stu-dents at Axtell Park Middle School have participated in this contest, raising $1,745

for SOSD.

A big thank you to Officer Doug Simmons for his outstanding

work on this event.

Athlete runners Ashley Clark (Canton) and Matt Bosch (Aberdeen) LETR Director Sgt Joel Perry (Brookings) and Lia Tarbox (Huron)

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T he Polar Plunge train made 13 stops this past

winter and spring on its tour of the state. Now that the cannon balls have stopped and those crazy outfits have either been put away or thrown away, we are pleased to report this has been another record breaking year. Three new plunges were added, bringing our total to 13. The number of

plungers has increased to over 1,000, and we have broken the $400,000 threshold for donations.

A huge thank you to our plunge organizers, sponsors, and partici-pants. We will be back next year bigger and better then ever!

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Total Plunges: 13 Total Plungers: 1,293

Money Raised: $402,816

Location Date $ Raised Plungers

Huron January 15 $27,132 49

Mitchell January 22 $26,749 38

Brandon January 29 $22,950 93

Pierre February 5 $8,857 20

Watertown February 12 $47,017 170

Rapid City February 26 $38,408 161

Spearfish March 5 $23,133 100

Madison March 26 $10,366 19

Brookings April 1 & 2 $39,319 170

Aberdeen April 10 $33,700 142

Vermillion April 10 $18,121 98

Sioux Falls April 16 $52,064 188

Yankton April 17 $35,000 45

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World Games Sport: Bowling • Doubles • Singles • Team Special Olympics Sports: • Athletics • Basketball • Bowling • Softball Years Involved: 17

Accomplishments that make you most proud: Being selected to represent my state and country!

How has Special Olympics Changed your life? I have made many friends over the years because of Special Olympics.

What does attending World Games mean to you? I have accomplished something that I have worked very hard at.

Special Honors: I won the 2010 Sportsmanship Award for basketball.

Accomplishments that make you most proud: Working hard to become a better bowler. Also traveling to Alaska, Mexico, and Hawaii.

How has Special Olympics Changed your life? I have met many new friends and have worked with some good coaches who have inspired me.

What does attending World Games mean to you? It will give me the chance to travel all over the USA and the world… I can’t wait!

Special Honors: I was a member of Team South Dakota at the 2010 National Games. I was also the high scorer in my bowling league.

World Games Sport: Aquatics • 200 Meter Individual Medley • 100 Meter Breaststroke • Relay

Special Olympics Sports: • Athletics • Aquatics • Basketball • Bowling

Years Involved: 3

World Games Sport: Athletics • 3,000 Meter Run • 10,000 Meter Run • Relay

Special Olympics Sports: • Athletics • Aquatics • Basketball • Bowling

Years Involved: 8

Accomplishments that make you most proud: Winning the gold medal at National Games and finishing a half marathon.

How has Special Olympics Changed your life? I have met many new friends, plus it keeps me busy and active.

What does attending World Games mean to you? It makes me proud to be a member of Team USA. I can’t wait to com-pete and have fun.

Accomplishments that make you most proud: Competing in my favorite Special Olympics sport of aquatics.

How has Special Olympics Changed your life? I am more confident in myself and in what I can do.

What does attending World Games mean to you? This is an opportunity for me to meet new people and make new friends from around this country and the world.

Special Honors: I won the 2009 Sportsmanship Award for basketball.

• Bowling • Softball • Volleyball

World Games Sport: Bowling • Doubles • Singles • Team Special Olympics Sports: • Athletics • Aquatics • Basketball Years Involved: 21

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Location: Lewis & Clark Lake Yankton, SD

Date: August 27 – 28, 2011

Description: Sailboats race the length of Lewis and Clark Lake in Yankton. This is an all day event for all types of sailboats. Over 50 boats are expected. Prepare for great food, fun and games, including a corn hole tournament.

Directions: 1st entrance into Marina & Resort 4 miles west of Yankton on Hwy 52.

Admission: Free - Everyone welcome!

For more information: 605.665.2680 www.bashtothecolonies.com

All proceeds to benefit SOSD

August 27, 2011 -10am Race Starts

-Fun & Games All Day -6:30pm BBQ & Awards

-7pm Live Music

August 28, 2011 -1pm-5pm Live Music at

Hobie Beach -Food, Fun & Games All Day

Friday, September 23, 2011 Fairgrounds (Expo Building) Sioux Falls

4:00p - 8:30p 5:00p - 7:00p

7:00p Dusk

Truck Registration Poker Tournament Registration Poker Tournament Play Vermillion Amped Truck Light Show

Saturday, September 24, 2011 Truck Convoy (Fairgrounds) Sioux Falls

$100 donation per truck

6:30a - 8:45a 8:45a - 9:30a

9:40a 10:00a - 10:15a

10:15a 11:30a - 1:00p 11:30 a - 4:00p

12:45p 3:00p

3:00 - 4:00p

Registration Welcome & Presentations Lead Truck Bidding Trucks Line Up Trucks Leave Lunch Truck Show Auction Raffle Awards & Trophies

To Volunteer, please contact Jessie Kuechenmeister (jkuechenmeister@yahoo.com) or 605.691.1953

State Softball Tournament ** September 17 & 18, 2011 ** Brookings, SD

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Congratulations to all of our award nominees and winners! We thank you for your

outstanding dedication and contributions to Special Olympics South Dakota. We would also like to thank those who took the time to submit an award nomination. We are

grateful you recognized the importance of identifying the best of the best. Athlete Of The Year Award: Presented to the Special Olympics athlete who has demonstrated the true spirit, courage, sharing, and joy of Spe-cial Olympics. The nominated Special Olympian must have attended at least one competition during the year. Each nomination will be re-viewed for individual effort, enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and achievement. NOMINEE: Kara Conner – Brookings , Wade Hughes – Redfield WINNER: Kathie Herrera – Vermillion

Don Baker Award: The “Don Baker Award” is the highest honor presented by Special Olympics South Dakota. It is given in honor of Don Baker who was a volunteer and official starter for Special Olympics events for many years. The award is given annually to an individual, or-ganization, business, or agency that has given outstanding support to Special Olympics South Dakota. NOMINEE: Bob Salmi – Aberdeen, Judy Miller – Beresford, Jhett & Kathy Albers – Spearfish WINNER: Barb Sandoval – Sioux Falls

Family Of The Year: Presented to family member(s) – including parent(s); group home parent(s); brother(s); sister(s); etc. who have demon-strated unique and outstanding support of Special Olympics athlete(s), have fostered the athlete’s physical and personal development through their participation in Special Olympics, and have demonstrated outstanding support for Special Olympics. Each nomination will be reviewed for the effort, enthusiasm, and support shown for the athlete. NOMINEE: Foote Family – Spearfish, Krcil Family – Wagner, Bradwisch Family – Mitchell WINNER: Kuechenmeister Family – Brookings

Outstanding Coach (Ron Stewart Award): Presented to a Special Olympics Coach who best demon-strates a high degree of technical skill and personal commitment to their program. Criteria for selection include training, enthusiasm, attendance at competitions and the amount of effort put into coaching. NOMINEE: Scott Carroll – Brandon Valley, Brent & Tracey Steinbach – Spearfish, Patrick Schuster – Watertown WINNER: Cathy Grubb – Belle Fourche

Volunteer Of The Year (Lyle Farrand Award): Presented to the person who has exhibited the best ex-ample of voluntary action to improve the quality of Special Olympics. The nominee should have pro-vided a full year of service to Special Olympics. Members of local programs, area committees and the State Board of Directors may be nominated. Length of service and the quality and amount of partici-pation in SO will be used as selection criteria. NOMINEE: Joselyn Schmitz – Aberdeen, Mike Mogard – Brookings, Prairie Berry Winery – Hill City, Beth Lalim & Salena Engels – Watertown WINNER: Don Rieck – Spencer

Champion Award (DJ Mertens Award): Presented to any business, organization, or media outlet which has made a major contribution to Special Olympics South Dakota. NOMINEE: Powershop Gym – Brookings, Spearfish Middle School – Spearfish, Globe University – Sioux Falls, LETR (Joel Perry) – Brookings WINNER: Watertown Kiwanis – Watertown

The Athlete Of The Year and the Outstanding Coach Of The Year will be recognized at the annual South Dakota High School Coaches Association awards luncheon to be held in Aberdeen on July 27, 2011. All award winners will recognized during the banquet at the State Bowling Tournament on November 12, 2011.

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LEAP Program

The Special Olympics South Dakota Life Enhancement Assistance Program (LEAP) is an income assistance program. Participants, through their local groups, can qualify for finan-cial assistance to selected events. The program’s goals are to increase participation in SOSD events by helping local groups with expenses related to their team’s participation.

LEAP support is now being offered at SOSD’s six state events. Through continued support of our donors, LEAP will expand as a partnership program with local groups across the state in an effort to get more participants involved in SOSD’s many beneficial events.

LEAP is a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) eligible program. If you would like to know more about the LEAP program from either a donor standpoint or local group support, please contact Darryl Nordquist, CEO/Executive Director.

Take a LEAP and join us at our next event!

Estate Planning

Are you aware of the many ways you can give the joy and pride of Special Olym-pics even when you are gone? Leave your legacy and consider Special Olym-pics in your estate planning.

Contact Darryl Nordquist, CEO/Executive Director for more information.

“I would love to help Special Olympics athletes for many years to come.”

Pictured left to right: Members of the Kouri family, Bryan and wife Dana, Marcia, and Kim. Also pictured are SOSD staff Katie O’Brien, Melanie Frosch, and Darryl Nordquist.

Thank You Kouri Family The family of Randy Kouri recently donated $7,095 in memorial gifts to Special Olympics South Dakota. These monies will be used for the SOSD new building project. Kouri, a long time supporter of Special Olympics, passed away on March 2, 2011.

Thank you Kouri Family for your kindness and generosity!

This past January, Taco John’s presented Special Olympics South Dakota a check for $7,042.86. This donation was a result of the Taco John’s holiday Nachos Navi-dad® promotion.

These monies were used to support our State Basketball Tournament this past March, along with 11 Polar Plunges held between January 15 - April 17, 2011 in the following communities: Huron, Mitchell, Brandon, Pierre, Wa-tertown, Madison, Brookings, Aber-deen, Vermillion, Sioux Falls, and Yankton.

Taco John’s has 27 restaurants located in the following communities: Aber-deen, Brookings, Brandon, Canton,

Chamberlain, Huron, Luverne, Madison, Milbank, Mitchell, Mobridge, Pierre, Sioux Falls, Sisseton, Vermillion, Yankton, Watertown and Worthington.

Thank you Taco John’s for your generous donation and support of Special Olympics South Dakota!

Brandon Athlete Eric Lien is pictured with a Taco John’s employee

Taco John’s Makes Donation

Capitol Hill Day Wednesday, March 2, 2011 was Capitol Hill Day for Special Olympics. Delegates from across the nation assembled in Washington, DC to meet with their respective political representatives. Matt Hasner represented the state of South Dakota on behalf of our athletes. Matt had a chance to meet with John Thune and representatives from Tim Johnson and Kristi Noem offices. The meet-ings were exceptionally critical this year as budget cuts nationwide have affected many Special Olympics state organizations. Thank you Matt for an outstanding job!

New School Program Funds Available

SOSD has partnered with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Net-work - Theobald Financial Group to help grow Special Olympics statewide.

Northwestern Mutual will help new school based start-up pro-grams with donations to offset expenses.

Contact Darryl Nordquist, CEO/Executive Director for more infor-mation.

SOSD Athlete and Board Member Matt Hasner

(Watertown)

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S tudents from Brandon Valley Middle School, Brookings Camelot (4-5) and Hillcrest (K-3),

Harrisburg, and Rapid City Central participated in the second annual Spread The Word To End The Word activities.

Banners were hung in each school encouraging students to take the pledge to stop using the R-word. Bookmarks featuring a photo of local stu-dents were also disseminated. On the day of the event, computers were made available for all stu-dents to take the on-line pledge.

Thank you to the administrators, teachers, and stu-dents who saw the importance of spreading this message of tolerance and acceptance.

The next STWTETW will be held on

3.07.12

Pictured are participating students from Hillcrest elementary in Brookings

On April 1, 2011 Modern Woodmen Of America, in partnership with the Sioux Falls Stampede, hosted their annual Matching Funds Project. This year the proceeds from the event were donated to Special Olympics South Dakota (SOSD). The event included a “Chuck a Puck” competition for which the winner received two American Airlines tickets.

Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield also

got involved by sponsoring a “Shoot for the Loot” contest.

Including the matching funds from Modern Woodmen, this event raised $6,235 for SOSD.

Thank you to everyone involved. Look for this fun event again next spring.

T hanks to the support of the South Dakota community, Special Olympics South Dakota (SOSD) is moving in a very positive direction. SOSD is alive and well with its’ mission of giving those with intellectual disabilities the ability to become healthy, active, and contributing

members of the communities in which they live.

With positive growth comes the need for expanded programs to help more of those in need. We need to expand our Healthy Athlete program and start the Young Athlete program. Expanded programs mean more staff and, for us, more storage space for equipment and better organization.

The exciting news is the reality of growth for SOSD is near. Construction be-gan in April, 2011 for the new SOSD facility which will include office and stor-age space. Expected completion date will be mid to late September. SOSD has a matching funds program to help pay for the new facility. Our new home will be located at 800 E. I-90 Lane.

Call Darryl Nordquist, CEO for more information on how to help (605.376.8613).

City officials and SOSD representatives participate in the official groundbreaking ceremony on May 4, 2011

Sioux Falls Athlete Micah Kallhoff stirs up the crowd

Joe Sztapka presented Lyle Farrand with the Modern Woodmen’s

“Hometown Hero Award” during the festivities