Jessie's Blog: Car Wash Success!

Hi Everyone!

On Saturday, August 16, 2014, we held Lebanon County Special Olympics' 3rd Annual Benefit Car Wash.  Fox's Automotive, located at 29 Cumberland Street in Lebanon, sponsored this event.  They donated not only the usage of their facility, water and cleaning supplies, but also their time (on their day off!) and really cool light blue Lebanon County Special Olympics' tee shirts for all volunteers proclaiming our partnership for the 3rd Annual Benefit Car Wash!

Car Wash Preparation!

One of the things I was most impressed with was the fact that the Fox's owners and employees were actively engaged and worked side by side with the athletes and volunteers throughout the entire fundraising event!  Besides the car washing, we also had a plethora of other fundraising items for sale, including tee shirts, Sheetz booklets, and lunch items.  All in all, we raised $1002.00!!!  This is an amazing amount that will be very helpful for purchasing athlete uniforms!

Thank you so much to Fox's Automotive, as without their support, our 3rd Annual Benefit Car

Hard Workers!

Wash would not have been possible.  Also, a big thank you to community members for participating, athletes and volunteers for helping out, and our friends and family members who brought in multiple vehicles to be washed!  Thank you to Deb Tice and Joan Sechrist for organizing this great event.  Lebanon County Special Olympics' 3rd Annual Benefit Car Wash was a huge success thanks to all involved, and I hope that our 4th Annual Benefit Car Wash will be just as successful!


Sincerely,

Jessie Salness
Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Liaison

Volunteers, Athletes & Fox's Automotive Staff!

View all pictures in our album at our Picasa!

Jessie's Blog: The Management Team

Hi Everybody!

As you may recall, I've written blogs about our Athletes, Coaches, and family members.  I have not, however, written about our Lebanon County Special Olympics Management Team, who are in charge of the administrative details of our program.

Currently, our amazing Management Team is headed by Joan Sechrist, our Area Manager, who is also our Outreach Coordinator.  James Campion is our Treasurer, Tara Ensminger is Secretary, Michelle Voydik is the Volunteer Coordinator, and Carmen Rozier is the Competition Coordinator.  Kevin Umberger acts as the Training Coordinator and the Equipment Manger, I am the Athlete Liaison, and Deb Tice is the Fundraiser Coordinator.  Janet Umberger is in charge of Athlete Registration, and Jackie Gostomski is the IMS Coordinator and our Public Relations Person at this time. 

As you may have noticed, a few of our Management Team members hold a couple of positions which we need to fill!  We have to fill the Assistant Manger position, as well as the Public Relations position.  We are looking for two engaged, enthusiastic individuals who are passionate about Special Olympics and qualified for these two important positions.  You can contact Joan at (717) 272-1332 (#3) with any questions.  You can find out more about these positions and our Management Team at our meetings held on the first Monday of each month, 7 PM, at St. Paul's Church on South Spruce Street in Annville.

I would like to thank each member of our Lebanon County Special Olympics Management Team, and also state how proud I am to be a part of this great team.  We look forward to welcoming new folks to our Management Team, and I implore you to take a moment to think about all the wonderful things the Management Team does as the backbone of the Lebanon County Special Olympics!

Sincerely,

Jessie Salness

Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Liaison

Jessie's Blog: Importance of Attending Competition

Dear Athletes:

This is an Open Letter to all Athletes regarding a very important topic that was brought to my attention at our August Lebanon County Special Olympics Management Team meeting.  Our Competition Coordinator, Carmen Rozier, reported that often times Athletes are not showing up to participate in competitions, cancelling at the "last minute" or not even calling to cancel at all!

There are a few reasons why Athletes need to follow through with their commitment to competitions they have signed up for.  Carmen stated that for one, your team may not even be able to compete if you are not present (for example: basketball, volleyball, soccer) if it is a team-centric sport.  Second, there are only so many allotments for each competition.  If you are signed up for competition, but are unable to attend and do not cancel or give adequate notice of cancellation, another Athlete can not even take your allotted space.  Third, Carmen reminded us of the cost associated with a "no show" for competition.  Each Athlete incurs costs to Lebanon County Special Olympics, such as registration fees, transportation, food and drink, lodging and more.

Please remember to take the responsibility of signing up and showing up for competitions seriously.  Look over your calendars carefully, confer with your family and other people in your lives (ie-bosses, volunteer supervisors, etc) BEFORE you sign up for competition.  Also, if for any reason you must cancel, please tell your Coach immediately!  Competing in Lebanon County Special Olympics is a great opportunity that comes with great responsibility.  Your participation is important and makes a difference.  We want to make sure that each eligible Athlete who has put the time and effort into being able to compete will go on to competition!

Thank you for your continued effort and hard work, Athletes!

Sincerely,

Jessie Salness

Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Liaison (Co-written by Shannon Kirk)