SEASPAR honors outstanding participants
The South East Association for Special Parks and Recreation recently honored three outstanding participants in its programming for individuals with disabilities with special awards at its annual Believe and Achieve Recognition Banquet.
Samantha Wagner of Woodridge received SEASPAR's Athlete of the Year award, presented to a participant in SEASPAR's athletics programming who displays a positive attitude, good sportsmanship, teamwork, knowledge of the game, and skill.
Wagner joined SEASPAR's Special Olympics Volleyball program in 2015, and after one season as a Spartan, she also joined the basketball program and would go on to join the flag football program in 2017 as the team's lone female player.
Despite her small stature, Wagner has no trouble holding her own on the court or the field, and is known among her coaches and teammates for her athleticism, kindness and willingness to do whatever is best for her team.
Owen Murphy of Downers Grove received SEASPAR's Cultural Artist of the Year Award, presented to a participant in SEASPAR's cultural arts programming who recognizes the importance of cultural arts.
Murphy, 13, has cerebral palsy and spina bifida, which impact his mobility, but he participates in SEASPAR's Adapted Music Lessons program, which uses touch pad instruments to make music.
Over the last two years, Murphy has discovered an ability to pair instruments and match notes and pitches to create original compositions and arrange them to his favorite songs.
Though Murphy is a quiet young man, his music has become a voice through which he can express himself.
Becky Cavanagh of Clarendon Hills received SEASPAR's Rising Star Award, new recognition introduced to honor a participant in SEASPAR's youth programming who has a positive attitude and positive interactions with peers and staff.
Cavanagh, who has Down syndrome, was the youngest-ever SEASPAR participant at only 23 months old when she first rode the Serena's Song accessible hot air balloon that SEASPAR sponsors each year at the Lisle Eyes to the Skies Festival.
Now 12, Becky continues participating in SEASPAR programs and is also an accomplished Special Olympics athlete, becoming a Global Messenger at just 10 years old. This year's Special Olympics Illinois Cop on a Rooftop fundraising campaign featured her in advertisements.
SEASPAR also recognized Level UP Basketball Academy of Downers Grove as Community Partner of the Year.
Founded in 2011, Level UP began partnering with SEASPAR in 2015 and hosts an annual basketball tournament fundraiser to benefit SEASPAR's Special Olympics programming.
This year's event had 54 teams and raised $4,000. Over the last three years, Level UP has donated $13,000.
Additional awards were presented to outstanding staff and volunteers, including program assistant Bob Ackermann of Western Springs, Inclusion Aide Sue Willis of Woodridge, and volunteer Ann Saladino of La Grange.
"At SEASPAR, we celebrate the achievements of our participants in every program, whether it's a Special Olympics athlete making her first catch in softball, an adult with socialization challenges interacting with his peers, or a child with autism learning to decompress in our Wonders Multi-Sensory Room," SEASPAR Executive Director Matthew Corso said.
"That positive energy, encouraging our participants to believe in themselves and achieve their potential, is at the core of what we do."
SEASPAR provides recreation programs and services for individuals with disabilities served by the park districts of Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, La Grange, La Grange Park, Lemont, Lisle, Westmont, and Woodridge, and the villages of Brookfield, Indian Head Park, and Western Springs.