Winter Games Presented by Eversource Set for March 4th and 5th

Special Olympics Connecticut will host its 2023 Winter Games presented by Eversource on Saturday, March 4th and Sunday, March 5th. Athletes of all abilities from across the state, with support from their coaches and volunteers, will compete in:

Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding at Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort, 99 Powder Hill Road in Middlefield on Saturday and Sunday,

Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing at Eversource, 1985 Blue Hills Ext in Windsor on Saturday and Sunday,

Figure Skating and Speed Skating at the International Skating Center of Connecticut, 1375 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury on Saturday,

Floor Hockey at the Pratt & Whitney Hangar, 423 Airport Avenue in East Hartford on Saturday and

Gymnastics at Farmington Valley Gymnastics and More, LLC, 5 Northwest Drive in Plainville on Sunday.

For more information, visit soct.org, email specialolympicsct@soct.org or call 203-230-1201. And, follow Special Olympics Connecticut on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Four of Connecticut’s Own Headed to Special Olympics World Games Berlin

We're proud to announce that four delegates will represent Special Olympics Connecticut and the USA at Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 this summer! They will be part of the 201-member Special Olympics USA delegation who will join more than 7,000 athletes from over 190 countries to compete in 26 sports, June 17th-25th, in Berlin, Germany. Megan O’Rourke and Debbie Albers are Unified teammates who will participate in bowling. Tricia Stapleton will serve as an assistant coach for cycling and Laurie-Jean Hannon, a sport manager.

Megan O'Rourke

Megan O’Rourke of Thompson, attends a weekly bowling program and participates in cardio and strength training classes to prepare for her first World Games. When she isn’t competing in Special Olympics, Megan enjoys embroidery, cooking meals for her housemates, and delivering donations to animal shelters. She is proud to represent her country and looks forward to meeting her fellow athletes and coaches. Donate to support Megan here.

Debbie Albers

Deborah “Debbie” Albers of Ashford, has been involved with Special Olympics since 1989 as both a coach and as a Unified partner. This is her second World Games experience, having competed as a Unified partner in bocce at the Special Olympics World Games Connecticut 1995. Special Olympics is an integral part of her family’s lives, as she met her husband through her involvement and has a daughter who is also a coach and Unified partner. Donate to support Debbie here.

Tricia Stapleton

Patricia “Tricia” Stapleton of Newington will serve as an assistant coach for cycling. She has been involved with Special Olympics for 38 years, having competed in Unified basketball at the 2006 and 2010 Special Olympics USA Games, and attended the 2014 USA Games as an alternate Unified partner in volleyball. Donate to support Tricia here.

Laurie-Jean Hannon

Laurie-Jean Hannon of North Haven will attend her 14th Special Olympics World Games, serving as a sport manager for Special Olympics USA. She's been involved with Special Olympics for over 50 years, in roles including spectator, family member, coach, volunteer, and staff member. A proud grandmother to eight grandchildren, Laurie-Jean spends much time with her family and greatly admires her 97-year-old mother and 94-year-old aunt, who both raised children with special needs.

Necci Named Board Chair

Matthew Necci is SOCT's new Board of Directors Chair.

A litigator by trade, Matt is Of Counsel at the Montstream Law Group, where his practice focuses on the areas of workers' compensation and labor & employment matters. He also functions as an outside general counsel for business clients.

Matt is a published author, debuting his historical fiction novel "The Road Will Someday Bend" in 2021. The book was

inspired by his grandfather's immigrant journey from Italy to America, before he was later drafted by the United States Army to join the battle against his former homeland during World War 2.

Outside of the office, Matt believes service to others is paramount to the success of an engaged and vibrant community. In addition to his work with Special Olympics, Matt is a member of the Board of Directors for the City of Hartford's Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Husky Ticket Project, an organization that focuses on sending children from underserved communities to University of Connecticut athletic events. In 2021, Governor Ned Lamont nominated Matt to the State of Connecticut's Insurance Risk Management Board, for which he currently serves as Vice Chair.

Matt lives in Glastonbury with his wife, Jen, and their daughters, Abigail and Riley.

Lotufo Creates Snowflakes to Support SOCT

Alexa Lotufo, an athlete with Special Olympics Glastonbury and employee of Bob's Discount Furniture, demonstrated her creativity and love for Special Olympics by organizing a wintertime fundraiser to support her fellow athletes.

Alexa, who is the mail room clerk at Bob’s headquarters in Manchester, Connecticut, created beautiful, hand-made paper snowflakes and Bob's employees purchased them for $3 each. Through the fundraiser, Alexa raised $1,000 - an amount that was matched by Bob's Discount Furniture Community Outreach - generating $2,000 for Special Olympics Connecticut!

"Alexa is gearing up for the Winter Games and we’re thrilled for her to compete and we’re so proud of her fundraising efforts, her artistic skills and her ability to rally the employees of Bob’s to contribute to Special Olympics," wrote Nicole Ball, PR Manager at Bob's Discount Furniture.

Alexa's fundraiser and enthusiasm for competing in Special Olympics also inspired Bob's employees to sign up to volunteer at Winter Games for a first time this year. Employees look forward to supporting Alexa, who will compete in snowshoeing at Eversource and her teammate, Chuck Yenkner, also a Bob's Store employee, who'll compete in alpine skiing at Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort, along with all the other athletes.

Throughout Winter Games weekend, Alexa's snowflakes will adorn the space at Eversource where Olympic Town will be set up, so athletes can enjoy them as they participate in fun activities and games during the downtime between their events.

In addition to matching the money Alexa collected through her fundraiser, Bob's Discount Furniture has contributed over $500,000 to Special Olympics Connecticut over the past 15 years through its annual Café Collection for a Cause campaign and support of our Penguin Plunge.

Enterprise's Tracy Ives Honored with President's Award

Special Olympics Connecticut was proud to honor Tracy Ives from Enterprise with a President’s Award, presented by CEO Mike Mason during the Annual Board and Staff Meeting. Ives has helped raise over $440,000 since joining the Enterprise team supporting SOCT in 2015, growing yearly amounts from the initial $35,000 to its current $65,000+.

Ives is instrumental in organizing Enterprise’s Annual Golf Tournament for Special Olympics, helping to pull off the event rain or shine. She also volunteers with her family and co-workers at additional events including Winter Games.

Congratulations Tracy, and thank you for your outstanding support!

SOCT Partner, WORX Branding, Receives Award for Special Olympics Annual Report

Congratulations to our friends at WORX Branding who won an American Graphic Design Award for our 2021 Special Olympics Connecticut Virtual Annual Report in Graphic Design USA magazine's 59th anniversary competition.

WORX is one of our Year-Round Suppliers and its talented employees recently created a new website for us and are currently working on our 2022 annual report.

Outstanding Athletes, Volunteers Will Be Celebrated, March 13th

Join us for our 2023 Annual Awards Dinner, presented by Tokio Marine HCC, honoring outstanding athletes, volunteers and sponsors who exemplify the spirit of Special Olympics and have made a significant impact on the organization. The Awards Dinner will take place at the Aqua Turf Club, 556 Mulberry Street in Plantsville, on Monday, March 13th with registration beginning at 5 p.m. and the program, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $100 per guest, $50 per SOCT athlete guest and $1,000 per table of 10 and must be purchased in advance by Friday, March 3rd here. For more information, email specialolympicsct@soct.org or call 203-230-1201.

Athlete and Global Messenger Robin Batchelder will be the keynote speaker, and Athlete Brian Drexler along with Renee DiNino from iHeart Radio and Ryan Hanrahan from NBC Connecticut will emcee.

Honorees will include:

Hall of Fame Awards

Susan Saint James Leadership Award - Robert “Beau” Doherty

Eunice Murtha Award for Philanthropy – Chris and Catherine Kortlandt

Bozzuto’s Family Award –William Bergeron and Mariel Bergeron Grace

Sheila Schmidt Award – Tom and LuAnn Krywinski

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Award – Brandon Knight

Community Leadership Award – The Connecticut Elks

Lew Perkins Coach Award – Kevin Grimes

Outstanding Special Olympics Local Program Award - Special Olympics West Hartford

Golisano Health Leadership Award - MD23 Connecticut Lions

The Norman Hanenbaum Lifetime Service Award - Barry and Joyce Baiardi & Don and Deborah Conklin

Spirit of Life Awards - David Strick, Paul Kleva, Andrew McMillian, Bethel School District

Unsung Hero Awards - Officer Erin Connole, Robin Sorey, Mike Law, Rose Doolittle, George Millerd

Take the Plunge for SOCT!

The Penguin Plunge for Special Olympics Connecticut returns with events happening this month through April across the state! All are invited to come out to take the plunge or donate to support a brave "penguin" at soct.org/plunge!

Upcoming Plunge events include:

Middletown Penguin Plunge at the Polish Falcons Nest #519, 144 Prout Hill Road, Middletown - Saturday, February 25, 2023, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register here.

Shoreline Penguin Plunge at Eastern Point Beach, 1 Beach Pond Road, Groton - Sunday, March 5, 2023, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register here.

Brookfield Penguin Plunge at Brookfield Town Beach, 460 Candlewood Road, Brookfield - Saturday, March 18, 2023, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Register here.

Tolland Penguin Plunge at Crandall Park, 120 Cider Mill Road, Tolland - Saturday, March 25, 2023, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Register here.

Monroe Plunge at the Park at Great Hollow Lake (Wolfe Park), 454 DOC Silverstone Drive, Monroe - Saturday, April 1, 2023, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register here.

Fairfield Penguin Plunge at Jennings Beach, 880 S. Benson Road, Fairfield - Saturday, April 15, 2023, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register here.

SAVE THE DATE: "Champions" Premiere at The Prospector Theater

The Prospector Theater of Ridgefield and Special Olympics Connecticut are teaming up to present a premiere screening of the movie "Champions" starring actor Woody Harrelson as a Special Olympics basketball coach and Special Olympics athletes from Massachusetts and Canada cast as members of his team. The event will take place at the Prospector Theater, 25 Prospect Street in Ridgefield on Friday, March 10th.

General admission tickets will be $20 each and the movie will roll at 7:15 p.m. VIP tickets will also be available for $100 each and will entitle each ticket-holder to a pre-screening reception and tour of the Theater. Visit soct.org and Special Olympics Connecticut on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for updates!

Free Resources to Care for Loved Ones

To show our appreciation for all you’ve done for Special Olympics Connecticut, we would like to offer you something in return. Something we hope will have a positive impact on you and your family. If you’re like many people, creating or updating your will, trust and other important documents is something that often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. But planning can help you care for your loved ones and offer significant peace of mind. And it doesn’t have to be complicated.

We hope our free publications will help you get started. Some of the information available includes:

Considerations for taking care of a loved one with special needs, parents or elder family members
Tips for choosing an executor
Creating an Advance Care Directive
Why you need a digital estate plan

You’ll find a complete list of free publications here.

Thank you to our Partner Sponsors:

Thank you to our Year-Round Suppliers:

We welcome your feedback and contributions.