Photo By Sgt. 1st Class James Downen | Michigan Army National Guard soldiers of the 144th Military Police Company, Michigan...... read more read more
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TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - “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. Athletes are given continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness and athletic skill, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.” - This is the mission statement of the American Special Olympics.
The Owosso, Michigan-based Michigan Army National Guard 144th Military Police Company has been supporting the Livingston County Area 27 team at Special Olympics Summer and Winter games for the past 11 years. The soldiers have served as mentors, cheered athletes at the events and performed traffic control duties during Summer and Winter games.
The Winter Special Olympics were held at the Grand Traverse Resort, in Traverse City, Mich., Feb. 4-7, 2014.
The athletes braved temperatures that seldom reached above 20 degrees at events such as snow-shooing, skiing, figure-skating, speed-skating and sled racing. While waiting to participate, many athletes would break out in chants and songs, despite the cold and biting winds.
Staff Sgt. William Paine led a color guard of 144th MP Company soldiers at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Games.
The soldiers in the color guard were greeted by Special Olympians singing team songs and chanting team mottoes. The emcee announced the entrance of the color guard and the soldiers placed the colors, signifying the start of the 2014 Winter Special Olympics.
The soldiers conducted traffic control and cross-walk duties to ensure the safety of athletes going from the Grand Traverse Resort to the competition areas. Retired Sgt. Teresa Hogle and Paine cheered the Area 27 athletes participating in the snow shoe race event.
Hogle said, “One of the biggest rewards of helping with Special Olympics is the smiles on the athletes’ faces. Nothing stops them, they get right back up after a fall. Despite the challenges they face for having special needs, they have a zest for life that is infectious.”
“Once soldiers participate in Special Olympics,” said Hogle, “They see the rewards of interacting with special needs people. I’m coming back for the Summer games is the usual comment.”
Hogle attended the speed skating event to cheer athlete Brittany Kelpin. Kelpin took two gold medals in distance speed skating and Hogle presented them to her at the awards ceremony.
Alexia Weber, the mother of Area 27 athlete, Nicholas Webber, said, “Sgt. 1st Class Kurt Morris and Paine brought my son out of his shell. Nicholas kept to himself before meeting these guys. Now, Nicholas wants to be an Army guy and is a lot more outgoing. He has a collection of Army patches and those are his prized possessions.”
Many of the Area 27 athletes were wearing 144th MP “Blackhats” T-shirts, commemorating the return of the unit from Afghanistan.
Webber said, “Many athletes were at the homecoming, including Nicholas. Nicholas was shaking when the doors opened and the soldiers came into view. He saw Morris and said, 'There he is, I see his bald head!'”
The closing ceremony took place on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. The event was a celebration of the good times enjoyed by athletes and sponsors alike with music and dancing, to include an auditorium length conga-line dance.
The closing was topped off by Michigan Army National Guard soldiers, Michigan State regional beauty queens, Michigan Department of Corrections and Law Enforcement agencies performing a rendition of The Village People’s “YMCA” song. The Michigan beauty queens proved to be as good of sports as they were dancers, they accepted a pushup challenge from Paine and, “knocked out 25 good ones!”
The Area 27 athletes assembled on a stairwell after the closing ceremony and were presented with a Special Olympics flag that was flown over Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan, by Morris.
Paine then led Area 27 in a goofy sing-along called “The Polar Bear Song.”
After these two events, soldiers and athletes said their good nights and promised to stay in touch and meet again at the Summer Special Olympic Games.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 02.20.2014 13:23 |
| Story ID: | 120896 |
| Location: | TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 133 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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