More than 200 Celebrate Inaugural EKS Day at the Governor’s Executive Mansion
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SONC Athlete Kerry Hagner accepts Proclamation from Gov Perdue
In a reception at the Executive Mansion on Friday evening September 24th, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue presented a proclamation declaring September 25, 2010, as Special Olympics North Carolina Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day throughout the Old North State. More than 200 guests made up of Special Olympics athletes, their family members, SONC Board members, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, and SONC Project UNIFY students attended the celebration reception at the invitation of the Governor and First Gentleman.
Special Olympics athlete and Global Messenger Kerry Hagner, of Chapel Hill, accepted the proclamation from the Governor on behalf of more than 38,000 registered athletes and 35,000 volunteers across North Carolina. The official proclamation will be permanently displayed in the Special Olympics North Carolina headquarters.
Following the Governor’s remarks, three volunteers shared their perspectives on the impact Mrs. Shriver has had on the world through her creation of Special Olympics in the late 1960s.
Dave Sheets, of Greensboro, spoke about his son’s, Marty, participation in the first international Special Olympics games on behalf of North Carolina in Chicago in 1968. Dave noted the world is a much better place thanks to Mrs. Shriver’s vision along with the work of Special Olympics volunteers.
Jim Cottrell, of Boone, shared his memories of Mrs. Shriver visiting Boone in the early 1970s to observe the work Jim and local volunteers were doing at the time in winter sports, especially alpine and Nordic skiing. Under Jim’s direction, the first regional winter sports competition was held for Special Olympics leading to Jim being asked by Mrs. Shriver to come to Washington, DC, to work for Special Olympics , Inc. (SOI). Although Jim declined Mrs. Shriver’s job offer, he did take a leading volunteer role in writing the first sports rule book for Special Olympics winter sports.
Special Olympics International Global Messenger Jennifer Wardlow, of Winston-Salem, shared her recent memories of being invited to the White House for the 85th birthday celebration for Mrs. Shriver hosted by President George Bush. Jennifer sat at the same dinner table with President Bush and Mrs. Shriver, and shared that Mrs. Shriver always kept discussion on the Special Olympics athletes and their accomplishments rather than that of her own.
While the EKS celebration at the Executive Mansion offered a time of reflection about the impact Eunice Kennedy Shriver had on the world, it also provided a wonder time to kickoff the first SONC Project UNIFY Youth Summit. More than 70 high school students from through North Carolina were part of the Youth Summit September 24 and 25th in Morrisville.
Dr. June Atkinson, Secretary of the NC Department of Public Instruction, also gave remarks welcoming the students involved in the Youth Summit and congratulating them on their leadership of Special Olympics through Project UNIFY. Dr. Atkinson is also serving as the honorary chairwoman of SONC’s Project UNIFY initiatives.
Kelsey Knight, of Graham County and a freshman Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke about the importance of engaging a new generation of involvement by general education students. “ Love. Justice. Faith. Hope. Courage. These are the values the Eunice Kennedy Shriver chose to live by and look for within others,” said Kelsey. “No group of people can be more enthused about Special Olympics than the youth involved in Project UNIFY.” Kelsey is also a member of the SONC Project UNIFY Youth Activation Council.
The celebration also provided SONC the chance to recognize a few of the state-level award winners for 2010 including the Chairman of the Board Awards, President’s Award, the Jim Long Commitment to Excellence Award, Coach of the Year Award, Volunteer of the Year Award, and Family of the Year Award.
These events are just a few of the hundreds of Special Olympics activities that took place around the world on Saturday, September 25 as we celebrated and honored the legacy of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
EKS Day will be celebrated again on September 24, 2011.
