Jessie's Blog: Athlete Leadership Team (ALT) Announced

Athlete Leadership Team (ALT) Announced

On February 25, 2014, the Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Team met to review applications and make selections of athletes to join the leadership team.  In attendance were: Joan Sechrist, Ines Antensteiner, Anita Park, Rachael Jones, Jim McIntyre, and myself.  We as a team are pleased to announce that three athletes have been chosen, and they are: Daniel Blatt, Alysa Dreibelbis, and Bobbi Jo Rhen.

The Leadership Team will be assisting with packing medical supplies for the local American Foundation for Children with AIDS on April 5th.  We will be joining with the LVC students for this volunteer experience.  This will be the first official endeavor that our three new Leadership Team members will be joining us for.

The Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Team provides great opportunities for us to enhance our leadership skills.  We appreciate the continued involvement of all of our members, including the LVC Community Dutchmen, and look forward to having our newly appointed athletes join us as well.

Respectfully submitted,
Jessie Salness
Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Representative

Jessie's Blog: Spread the Word to End the Word, March 5th

SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD

March 5th will be Spread the Word to End the Word day.  The campaign is a continuous effort by Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and supporters to increase society's understanding about the hurtful nature of the R-word and to encourage people to pledge to stop using it.

Spread the Word to End the Word was founded in 2009 by two college students, Soeren Palumbo and Tim Shriver.  Passionate supporters across the United States and in other countries continue to spread the word to promote this campaign.

Language is a powerful tool and the use of inclusive language assists in making sure nobody is left behind, hurt, or excluded.  Oftentimes, people don't realize how hurtful and dehumanizing the R-word is to people with intellectual disabilities. 

In summary, let's band together to use kind, respectful language that includes everyone!  I encourage you to visit www.r-word.org to pledge your support to eliminate the R-word and also to get ideas for events to Spread the Word to End the Word.

Thank you for your time and support regarding this important effort!

Sincerely,

Jessie Salness

Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Representative 

Applause, Applause!

Congratulations are in order for some of your fantastic volunteers!

Congratulations to John Monk. John won the YMCA award for Social Responsibility. Well Done John!!

John Monk and most of the Lebanon Co Special Olympics Power Lifting Team

Congratulations to Michelle Voydik! Michelle won Lebanon County Council of Human Services Community Service Award. Michelle does great work in her Community of Richland and volunteers for Special Olympics Lebanon County. 

Michelle on left. Gwen, president of LCCHS on the right.

Congratulations to Rebecca Curran. She won the Isaiah Leadership Award from the YMCA. Rebecca does great work in Lebanon Schools and also volunteers for Special Olympics Lebanon County.

Jessie's Blog: 10 Reasons Why I Loved Fall Fest at Villanova 2013

Villanova University's Special Olympics Committee organizes the largest student-run Special Olympics event in the world, the SOPA fall state games. Villanova was the official host of the SOPA fall state games, held November 1st-3rd, for the 25th year! The students comprising the "SpO" committee work year round to organize every aspect of the festival. VU's campus hosts over 1000 athletes, 400 coaches, 2000 volunteers, and the many corporate sponsors and media outlets who cover the event. The athletes participating in the Fall Festival compete in 6 Olympic-type sports, and engage in other activities, such as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the pomp and circumstance of the lighting and carrying of the Olympic Torch, the Parade of Athletes, an Olympic Town, and a Victory Dance.

 Dr. Timothy P. Shriver was the keynote speaker this year. He is the chairman and CEO of Special Olympics, and in that capacity, he serves nearly 4 million SO athletes and their families in 180 countries. Also this year, we were pleased to have Tim Harris as a speaker. Tim is a SO athlete, Global Messenger, and an independent restaurant owner.

 **10 Reasons why I Loved Attending the 2013 Fall Festival at Villanova**

1) Three whole days to get away!>

2) I was able to show what I worked so hard for.

3) I was made to feel like a star. (ie- Being cheered on before lifting!)

4) Meeting Dr. Timothy Shriver, who was very gracious greeting me and everyone else warmly!

5) Opening Ceremony as a portal to a long-established tradition, including the presenting of the colors, the Olympic Torch, the Parade of Athletes, and the reciting of the SO Oath.

6) The events focused on the athletes' strengths, not weaknesses.

7) The competition: Being cheered on as an athlete who has trained and is now competing to the best of his/her ability, and being watched by those who understand and cheer us on.

8) The Olympic Town: Just having fun wandering around, playing games, winning prizes, and making crafts with fellow athletes, friends, and family.

9) The Victory Dance: Just plain old fun!  Dancing in a packed "mob" where it's hard to discern what your differences are. Everyone was invited into the "circle of dancing" and no one was left out. The loud music, low lights, and group dancing helped to make the environment inclusive and contributed to the feeling of just "being in the moment!"  

10) The Awards Ceremony: Standing among the other athletes while receiving our medals and ribbons!

Speaking as both an Athlete Rep and an Athlete, I want to thank everyone who made this event possible for me to participate in the SOPA Fall Festival hosted by Villanova for the 25th year! I want to especially thank the Villanova Special Olympics Committee for organizing this event, and all of the volunteers who helped make the Fall Festival successful!

Sincerely,

Jessie Salness,

Your Lebanon County SOPA Athlete Representative

Jessie's Blog: Thank You Coaches

I have been involved with Special Olympics for two years, having participated in Powerlifting and Track and Field.  Therefore I have only had two coaches thus far.  Taking that into account, I have to say that I am impressed with the dedication of our coaches who volunteer for SOPA, as there are plenty of volunteer opportunities that might be easier.  It takes a special kind of person to coach a SOPA sport.  It takes hard work, patience, kindness, toughness, and the ability to coach.  I'm writing this blog as a Thank You note to all of the coaches of SOPA.  I know a lot of hard work goes into being a coach, both work that is easily visible and the things that we athletes don't see!  Thank you for putting the time and effort into coaching us athletes; it means more than you know! 

Here are a few reasons why I wanted to thank my coaches:

You push me to try my best even when I am distracted and tired.

You are there to celebrate my successes, small and large!

You opened the world of sports to me, as I would not be an athlete without you!

You have taught me that I can do more than I ever thought possible, both physically and mentally!

On behalf of the SOPA athletes, I would like to send a giant THANK YOU to all of our dedicated coaches!  Your time, effort, persistence, and support helps mold us into better athletes and more successful individuals!

Sincerely,

Jessie Salness

Lebanon County SOPA Athlete Representative

Jessie's Blog: Annual Fall Sports Classic

The 10th Annual Fall Sports Classic was held in Hershey on Sunday, September 22nd, at Hershey High School, hosted by Area M SOPA.  I had the pleasure of participating as a power lifter.  I had a lot of fun!  The opening ceremonies were enjoyable, just long enough but not too long!  The cheerleaders were fun to watch and the speakers were informative.

I went to the weight room for my events, the bench press and dead lifts.  I was pleased as an athlete to see how smoothly things appeared to go.  If there were any problems, I didn't notice!  The rooms were filled with people who were engaged, focused, and thrilled to be there.  I enjoyed the cheering during the times I lifted, both during bench press and dead lifts, and I heard cheering for all of the athletes throughout the day.  There was an overall sense of encouraging each other, and personally, I was so uplifted that I lifted more than I every did before.  I bench pressed 85 lbs, and I dead lifted 195 lbs, and I really felt like all the practicing and hard work paid off!  I would like to thank my coach, John Monk, for teaching me how to lift, and how to prepare physically and mentally. 

The Olympic Village was lots of fun, and the volunteers were super nice and encouraging.  It was nice to "blow off steam" and play games and win prizes too.  It was a great environment for the athletes to spend time having fun with their family members and teammates.  The prizes were awesome, ranging from t-shirts to stickers and patches.  I think everybody appreciated the variety and plethora of prizes!

I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did too.  I want to give a big THANK YOU to Area M for hosting the 10th Annual Fall Sports Classic.  Also, please remember to thank your coaches, family members, and volunteers for all they do to assist and inspire us, whether we are practicing or competing.

Sincerely,

Jessie Salness

Lebanon County SOPA Athlete Representative

Jessie's Blog: All in the Family

As Special Olympics athletes, our families can be our greatest source of support, encouragement, and comfort.  They can play many roles for us: chauffeur, coach, cheerleader, and as needed, drill sergeant!!!  They have helped us become the people we are today.  I want to send a big "thank you" to family and people who are like family to the athletes.  As the Lebanon County Athlete Representative, I want to acknowledge that we would not be as successful without the support of our families and caregivers.  I don't think we give enough kudos to them since it is easier to see what the volunteers and coaches are doing.  I want to recognize this often-overlooked part of our team!  We would not have such a great team of athletes if it wasn't for the families and caregivers being so engaged and putting their time and effort into the Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics is pushing us athletes to do things we've never done before, and it takes a lot of trust and courage for you, the family members, to encourage us to try things that we may have never thought were possible!  You want the best for us and want to protect us, but you are still cheering us to take on new physical and mental challenges as athletes. 

We are not guaranteed gold medals, but what we are guaranteed is the opportunity to train and compete to the best of our abilites!  Always remember our Special Olympics Oath:

"Let me win, but if I cannot win, Let me be brave in the attempt."

Thank you to our parents and loved ones for encouraging us to be brave in our attempts, and supporting our participation as Special Olympics athletes!

Sincerely,

Jessie Salness

Lebanon County Special Olympics Athlete Representative