Special Olympics athletes shine at celebration ceremony

Submitted by the Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County

On Wednesday, Aug. 26, the Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County hosted its 10th annual Special Olympics Awards Celebration. Participants and their families, along with SRACLC staff, gathered at the White Deer Run golf club in Vernon Hills to recognize athletes, staff and family members who show an outstanding commitment to SRACLC Special Olympics Programs.

The awards ceremony kicked off with a slideshow starring the Special Olympics athletes and the sports they participated in throughout the year. After the video, each athlete was honored and asked to stand up individually while each sport they played was read out and they received their 2015 Special Olympics pins. Then the SRACLC staff proudly announced the winners of this year's awards.

Melissa Cervantes from Grayslake, who is new to SRACLC and participated in basketball, track & field, softball, and volleyball, was titled Rookie of the Year. The Most Improved-Male and Most Improved-Female went to Jeffrey Murphy of Lake Zurich and Amanda Dingman of Grayslake for always pushing themselves and striving for improvement. Tony Maurizio from Lake Zurich won the Sportsmanship award and was praised for his ability to always keep positive and rally his team. Athlete of the Year was given to Chris Walti of Libertyville for his accomplishments at State Games over the summer, specifically for earning the best overall score for his dead lift and bench press in powerlifting. Last, the SRACLC Lifetime Achievement Award went to Bridget Carroll of Mundelein, who has been participating in SRACLC Special Olympics for many years; Bridget cried tears of joy as she received her award.

SRACLC also recognized Alyssa Stricker as Support Staff of the Year and Jack Brandl as Volunteer of the Year for all of their help making these programs a success. The Family Support Award was given to Cheryl and Mark Wickland of Libertyville, parents of Taylor Wickland, for showing up to every game without fail, cheering on the team, and showing amazing support.

The evening ended with a dance and ice cream bar to celebrate the winners and the many other successful Special Olympics athletes at SRACLC.

"Our athletes practice and compete with drive and desire to be strong competitors in all 13 of our athletic programs throughout the year," said Kelly Weber, Special Olympics coordinator. "Bringing them and their families together each year to recognize their hard work and achievements has become a celebrated tradition."

SRACLC offers 13 different Special Olympics training programs throughout the year as well as weekly programs and special events for individuals with disabilities, for ages 3 and older. For information or to register for programs, contact the SRACLC office, at (847) 816-4866, visit www.sraclc.org, or like SRACLC on Facebook.

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