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Klamath County Local Program

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	Updates... UPDATED February 19, 2010 * Photos of the 2010 Annual OIT Basketball Game vs Special Olympics Are Available! January 19, 2010 * Take the plunge now to make a lasting impact! August 11, 2009 * Eunice Kennedy Shriver - Founder of Special Olympics - Has Died ONGOING * ALL VOLUNTEERS - OLD AND NEW -PLEASE FILL OUT THIS NEW FORM! February 18, 2009 * Stop Using the “r” Word January 24, 2009 * CEO Responds to FALSE News Reports that Special Olympics Has Been Cancelled January 21, 2009 * Volunteer Spotlight: Marie Sari

News
	PHOTOS FROM THE 2010 ANNUAL OIT BASKETBALL GAME WITH SPECIAL OLYMPICS ARE AVAILABLE NOW! UPDATED February 19, 2010 Kelly Caleb of Kelly's Hot Shots was at our annual OIT basketball night and took many pictures. Click the link below to go to her website and view the pictures. We'd like to thank Kelly for taking the time to support this Special Olympics event. Please visit Kelly's Hot Shots at www.kellycaleb.com. When you go to that page, you will see a box on the right labeled with "Enter your Event Code:". Enter "basketball" WITHOUT the quotation marks and click GO. After you have logged in (signed the Guestbook), then, in the Folders box, scroll down and click on the folder labeled "02-08-10 OITBX v Special Olympics." You will then be able to see the pictures. We will also post many of the non-professional shots that our own people took. (When they are available, that is, which should be soon.) Be sure to check back often.
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	TAKE THE PLUNGE NOW TO MAKE A LASTING IMPACT! January 19, 2010 Polar Plunge Oregon promises to take your breath away, but not before you make a world of difference along side local law enforcement officials and others in your community to raise money for Special Olympics Oregon. There will be no shortage of cold water to dive into in 2010, with plunges slated for Portland, Bend and 3 new ones planned for Eugene, Corvallis and Medford. The Portland and Medford plunges have already taken place, but the Corvallis and Eugene plunges are scheduled for Saturday, February 20, and the Bend plunge will take place on Friday, February 26. So please click Here to find out more! It's a really cool* thing to do!*
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Founder of Special Olympics Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 2005	EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER - FOUNDER OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS - HAS DIED August 11, 2009 Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics and championed the rights of the mentally disabled, died early Tuesday, August 11, 2009. She was 88. Shriver had suffered a series of strokes in recent years and died at Cape Cod Hospital, her family said in a statement. Her husband, her five children and all 19 of her grandchildren were by her side, the statement said. "She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others," the family said. "We are tremendously grateful for the extreme outpouring of support and prayer from the public as we honor our beloved founder," said Special Olympics President and COO Brady Lum. "Today we celebrate the life of a woman who had the vision to create our movement. It is an enormous loss, but I know we can rest assured that her legacy will live on through her family, friends, and the millions of people around the world who she touched and transformed. In her memory, we will continue to work to bring her powerful vision to life to change the lives of those with intellectual disabilities, their families and communities, using sports as the catalyst for respect, acceptance and inclusion." To learn more about Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the impact that her vision has had on the world, please visit www.eunicekennedyshriver.org.
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	STOP USING THE "R" WORD February 18, 2009 At the Winter Regionals that Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County attended in Roseburg on February 14, we learned about The "R" Word Campaign." In short, many people in our culture are using the "r" word in a derogatory sense to describe bad things. This is a really hurtful use of language, and we need to take a stand to stop this offensive practice. Here is a paragraph from www.theRword.org: "Some people have mental retardation (intellectual disabilities). While mental retardation is not a bad word, when used to describe someone or something you think is bad or stupid it becomes another thoughtless hurtful word. People with intellectual disabilities are not bad. Their condition is not bad. The prejudice and discrimination to people with intellectual disabilities is BAD…and WRONG! Please stop using the word ‘retard’. It hurts individuals and families of those with disabilities." We encourage everyone to take the pledge and stop using the "r" word. Please visit www.r-word.org and www.theRword.org for more information. Thank you.
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Margie Hunt, CEO Special Olympics Oregon	CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RESPONDS TO FALSE NEWS REPORTS THAT SPECIAL OLYMPICS HAS BEEN CANCELLED January 20, 2009 [Posted here 1/24/2009] Dear Friends of Special Olympics Oregon, Ah, the media…both friend and foe! This week, I'm afraid the latter distinction applies. Many of you may have seen or heard a TV story which aired recently about Special Olympics Oregon. This story contained numerous inaccuracies and was, unfortunately, picked up by some newspapers as well. So, just to set the record straight, here's the real story: Special Olympics Oregon Responds Proactively to Economy Like nearly all non-profit and for-profit companies, we have looked responsibly at our budget and determined that, given the uncertainty of the 2009 economy, we should scale back a bit to protect both our athlete's year-round experience and the organization's future. Our decisions were driven by one overriding consideration: what is best for the thousands of individuals with intellectual disability that we serve statewide? Special Olympics Oregon Programs Continue to Serve Athletes Statewide The answer was clear: we needed to maintain our athletes' regular Special Olympics involvement in all sports and in as many year-round competition experiences as possible, while at the same time, take some of the financial pressure off the volunteer-driven Local Programs who serve our constituency in nearly every county and major city in the state. With those goals, we determined that we should shelve – for 2009 only – the three largest, most expensive, and least frequent state games. This would provide a measure of financial relief for both the state office and the Local Programs. We retained – in fact, we expanded – the number of remaining statewide competitions we do, which is now nearly 30. This means that our athletes will continue to have the regular, weekly, year-round participation in Special Olympics Oregon that they are accustomed to. In addition, we took a sharp pencil to the state office to be sure every dollar was best utilized in this economy - the result was a reduction of three staff (we now have 22 instead of 25). 2009...Challenge and Opportunity...and YOU can help! Here at Special Olympics Oregon, we feel very positive about the New Year! We have built a strong base of corporate and community support that continues to further the important mission of Special Olympics Oregon. That said, we will need the help of our friends to weather the current economic climate. We invite your support as we inspire greatness in our amazing constituency - an extraordinary group of children and adults who teach us every day that giving up is not an option. They do hard things…and so can we. Thank you for your help. It is greatly appreciated. Best regards, Margie _______________________ Margaret H. Hunt, CEO Special Olympics Oregon
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Calendar
	Come Join us for these upcoming events.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Sports
	Fall Sports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bowling [Coaches]: [Practice]: Click Here for Bowling 2008 Pictures! Here are some of our bowlers from 2008, most of whom are participating again in 2009. Mac Butler Michael Wagner Sybil Archer Patrice Zierke, Ed Valdez Zach Benz, Policeman Lindsey Snyder Aaron Arthur Joseph Huitt, Bethany Lund Cody Mattson Ethan Reid, Justin Tice Aquatics [Coaches]: [Practice]: Here are many of our current aquatics team members:
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	Winter Sports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unified Team Basketball [Head Coach]: TBA [Practice]: TBA Individual Skills Basketball [Head Coach]: TBA [Practice]: TBA 3-on-3 Basketball [Head Coaches]: TBA [Practice]: TBA 5-on-5 Basketball [Head Coaches]: TBA [Practice]: TBA
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	Summer Sports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Athletics (track & field) [Head Coach]: TBA [Practice]: TBA Click Here for Athletics 2008 Pictures! Bocce [Head Coach]: TBA [Practice]: TBA Golf [Head Coach]: TBA [Practice]: TBA Softball [Head Coach]: TBA [Practice]: TBA
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Fundraising / Donations
	Your Donations are Tax-Deductible! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please send all donations to: Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County PO Box 221 Klamath Falls, OR 97601 (Make checks payable to Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County.) Please call (541) 850-5257 or e-mail us if you have any questions!
	Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County is a nonprofit organization that depends solely on donations to provide services free of charge to intellectually disabled people in our community. We offer several different Olympic-style sports in three seasons each and every year with our athletes training for and participating in Regional Competitions each season. All fees for equipment and practice facilities as well as travel costs to competitions and meals & lodging when necessary for the Klamath County program are raised locally by volunteers and ordinary people just like you. There is no cost to the athletes for participation in Special Olympics. Please consider making a tax-deductible* donation today!*
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Become an Athlete
	Become a Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County Athlete! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please email Aaron Brockey or call (541) 850-5257 and let us know who you are so that you can begin your experience as an athlete with Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County! (Or have a parent or guardian contact us on your behalf.) Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County training and competition is open to every person with intellectual disabilities residing in Klamath County who is at least eight years of age and registers [submits the Application For Participation In Special Olympics] to participate in Special Olympics. There is no maximum age limitation for participation in Special Olympics. The minimum age requirement for competitive participation is eight years of age. No child may participate in a Special Olympics competition [or be awarded medals or ribbons associated with competition] before his or her eighth birthday. Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County - A Place For Everyone!
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How to Volunteer
	Submit Your Current Information and Personal Preferences Today! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our volunteer managers have asked that ALL Volunteers please fill out the Volunteer Capacity Form. It is online and you can get to it by clicking on the "Click Here" picture. Who should fill out this form? *ALL Past Volunteers who want to help again *ALL Current Volunteers *ALL New Volunteers who want to help Filling out this form will help ensure that our volunteers are utilized in ways that best suit their preferences and needs. It also gives our volunteers a way to update their contact information with us. Whether you have volunteered with us in the past or are new to Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County, come and see what we're all about and how you can be part of our exciting program! Support your Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County program with some of your time. Special Olympics works because of volunteers just like you. Our athletes will inspire greatness in your life, while you assist them at the same time. Many opportunities are available, such as: Fundraising Transportation Telephoning Mailings Coaching and Assistant Coaching General Help and Miscellaneous If you still have questions about volunteering with Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County, please email Aaron Brockey or call (541) 850-5257 and leave us a detailed message with a way to contact you.
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Volunteer Spotlight
	We want to give our Thanks to those who give so much.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marie Sari Matt Sari	SPOTLIGHT: VOLUNTEER MARIE SARI January 21, 2009 Our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Marie Sari. (Sari rhymes with berry.) We recently sat down with Marie and asked her a few questions. Even though many of us have often seen Marie's familiar friendly face around us at events, activities and occasions, we wanted a chance to get to know her a little bit better. Marie is a Special Olympics volunteer who has contributed at least several hundreds (but probably thousands) of hours helping with everything from cooking spaghetti at parties, supervising bus transportation, coaching softball, distributing newsletters and flyers to literally countless hours of helping in any other way she can, and anytime she can. What is your favorite color? Blue. Where were you born? I was born and raised in Burlingame, Kansas. How did you end up in Klamath Falls? After graduating from high school I went to work for an aunt's restaurant in Tulelake, California. My husband, Julio Sari, is from Klamath Falls, and he was in Tulelake one day and that is how we met. I worked at the family restaurant, Sari's Restaurant, in Klamath Falls for a few years. What is your favorite season? Summer Vacation! What are some ways you like to spend your time? I love fishing, gardening, yard work, and the ocean. How long have you been involved with Special Olympics? About 7 years now. What are your favorite Special Olympics sports? Basketball, Softball, and Bowling. Did you do any sports in school? I went to school in Washington in the 8th grade, and I was the cleanup batter for softball. What is the most important thing you've learned from Special Olympics? Special Olympics Athletes are great! What would you like the people of Klamath County to know about Special Olympics? If you haven't experienced it, you need to! What advice would you give to someone who is considering volunteering for Special Olympics? Do it, because there's nothing like volunteering. The satisfaction you get from it is like nothing else. And the knowledge that you can impart to the Special Olympics athletes is something that they can use and keep in their life. Special Olympics is the best thing in the world for my son, Matt. [Matt is the youngest of Julio's and Marie's 3 children.] Is there anything else that you would like people to know? If you think you can't do something, you will never know until you try it -- and then be amazed that you can!
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Marilyn Sprague	THANK YOU MARILYN SPRAGUE! October 1, 2008 Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County would like to thank Marilyn Sprague for all the time and effort that she has given to benefit our local athletes including her leadership and help in raising funds for our program. Marilyn is a great example of selfless giving, and we have been fortunate to have her efforts on our behalf. Thanks again, Marilyn!
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	CALL FOR DIGITAL PICTURES OF OUR SPECIAL OLYMPICS PEOPLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [what's needed]: Digital photos of our people (from ANY year) [what can I do]: E-mail Michael Peterson [when]: Ongoing - The sooner the better [where]: Cyberspace [Info]: The Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County website manager has set up external hosting websites to share pictures of our athletes, coaches, and volunteers in action and at events. He needs jpeg digital photo files for any and all of our sports. If you have any digital photos that you would like to share with our Special Olympics community, please email Michael Peterson so that he can get the pictures posted and linked from this website. (Visit the KCSO Bowling 2008 and KCSO Athletics 2008 websites to see live examples.) Thank-you!
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Local Management Team
		Michael Peterson Local Program Coordinator	Alisa Gailey Finance Manager

		Marilyn Sprague Fundraising Manager	Bernie Wood Management Team

		Aaron Brockey Volunteer Coordinator	Morgyn Lentz Volunteer Coordinator

		Mary Peterson Communication Manager	Sue Morin Athlete Liaison

		Dianna Ike Media Liaison	Missy Smith Medicals Manager

		Darcie Turner Training Management Team	Kellie Weitman Training Management Team

		Marie Sari Management Team

Please send all donations and regular mail to: Special Olympics Oregon - Klamath County PO Box 221 Klamath Falls, OR 97601 (541) 850-5257 Email Us! Your donations are tax-deductible!
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