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As the cooler air greets me each morning, I can’t help but feel that special fall sports excitement. As a soccer player myself, I love nothing more than taking the field when the temperatures are a little more forgiving and the colorful leaves provide a beautiful backdrop for a game. Before jumping into a new season, I want to reflect on what an incredible summer it was for Special Olympics Oregon and our athletes. We nearly doubled our participation for athletics, bocce, golf, and softball. During our last Board of Directors meeting, the recurring theme was that our regional competitions were starting to feel like old times again. Thank you so very much to everyone who gives of their time to make sport an accessible, inclusive platform that creates joy, lifelong friendships, and unforgettable experiences for the children, students, and adults we serve.
We are anticipating another season of growth for our local programs, Unified Champion Schools, and the many supporting programs that we offer. Personally, I’ve enjoyed hosting a Book Club with our athletes on SOOR Active (we’re reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight) and am delighted to see the continued enthusiasm for our cooking classes, fitness activities, and social events. I’m proud of the work that we do together – this is an organization that feels like family. If ever there was a perfect time to join us, it’s now – we are at an exciting inflection point and want to embrace new athletes and their families, corporate partners who share our vision for inclusion, volunteers who want to coach or support programming -- and of course, we are grateful for our donors who make everything we do possible.
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Britt Oase
CEO, Special Olympics Oregon
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ATHLETE
Duane and Tammy Cleary
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Duane and Tammy are multi-talented athletes in many sports and recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. She has participated in swimming, gymnastics, track (including shot put and long jump), and ice skating. The Clearys competed together in a national ice-skating competition at Lloyd Center, skating to Beauty and the Beast.
Both Cleary’s are ideal employees. Duane has been with Albertsons for 25 years, and Tammy has been with Columbia Sportswear for 24 years, at the Lake Oswego outlet. Duane said, “I have a few more years until I retire.” Duane also was the first athlete to serve on the board of directors from 1998-2004 and worked on the Special Olympics Oregon staff in the late 80’s, at a warehouse that shipped Nike shoes to every state and country.
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They share a true love for the Special Olympics Oregon community, “we always make friends, so many friends,” Tammy said. She has a special appreciation for her track coach, Cindy Miguel, whom she has known for 19 years. “Cindy can get me through things when others can’t,” said Tammy.
Asked how they have made it twenty-five years in marriage, a milestone for any married couple, and Tammy said: “it’s easy. Just love.”
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“It is some of the best basketball you are going to see in Oregon…seeing people play the game for the love and the passion of it, you can’t get any better than that.”
-Jamaal Goodlow
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Everyone has their “why”, and for Jamaal Goodlow, it’s the joy he feels witnessing the arc of a Special Olympics Oregon athlete, unfamiliar with a sport at the beginning of a season, compete with a giant smile on their face at season’s end.
Goodlow is a Unified Champion Schools coach at Parkrose High School, where his brother is the principal. He started as a special needs teaching assistant, and when his brother approached him about running the Unified program, Goodlow’s response was simple, “I said heck ya, let’s do it!”
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LAW ENFORCEMENT TORCH RUN
David Abrahamson
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Father of seven kids, passionate youth sports coach, Portland Police Captain, and ardent supporter and board member of Special Olympics Oregon; David Abrahamson’s energy and exuberance for making the world a better place is truly inspirational.
There is a long-time history between law enforcement and Special Olympics that insiders are aware of, and few others know about. It all started with torch runs, something law enforcement is involved in nationally.
“It’s an honor for us to be invited into this space,” said Abrahamson, “and a way to be involved in the community when we’re inundated from call to call, overworked and with heavy hours.” He continued, “it used to be that (as officers) we could go to community events or go to a park and shoot hoops and be (truly) integrated in the community. Unfortunately, these programs have fallen to the wayside due to demands on staff. It’s important for us to be involved in the community and this involvement with Special Olympics Oregon is a way to do that; once the officers see that connection with the athletes, we get buy in.”
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His passion for working with the Special Olympics Oregon athletes means, for him, being involved with elite athletes. “The challenges they have faced,” he said “especially during Covid, there were challenges with everyone in society, and it was amazing to see how they handled the adversity of that time. Special Olympics Oregon really reflects a special outlook on life. It’s precious. I wish I could capture it and sell it in a pill form.”
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Dr. Herbert and Shirley Semler are on a mission to help people live longer, healthier lives; a recent and very generous gift of $1M to Special Olympics Oregon will make great strides toward that goal. With so many choices and causes needing support, why did the Semlers choose Special Olympics Oregon?
“Our missions match,” said Dr. Semler, “heart attacks are the number one cause of death, and Special Olympic Oregon athletes are at higher risk. We want to educate and help prevent heart disease and are fortunate enough to raise money towards this goal.” Keeping the magnanimous donation in Oregon means a bigger local impact.
Dr. Semler had a milestone birthday this year, and as he looks back at this life and what he is most proud of, he said “my five children and 15 grandchildren.”
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He and Shirley worked together not only to raise an amazing family but also in their non-profit work. What makes their marriage so strong? “It just comes naturally,” he said, “Shirley is the reason I was successful with all my businesses. She helped me make hard decisions. It comes with respect for one another and commitment; I was true to her, she was true to me.”
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Aaron Goff, President/CEO of Embold Credit Union is a long-time supporter of Special Olympics Oregon with a heightened purpose behind his dedication; a daughter who is a SOOR athlete. | |
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PARTNER
Embold Credit Union
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Embold Credit Union was the presenting sponsor of Special Olympics Oregon’s Fall fundraiser, Plane Pull, held at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, where teams face off against a 40,000-pound NASA Gulfstream II Shuttle Simulator. Goff’s team, he laughed, “actually moved the plane this year!” After moving it “zero inches” their first year. While he said it’s a ‘fun feeling’ to feel the plane move, it’s “all about fundraising. That’s what I get most excited about,” he said.
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Our Mission
Special Olympics Oregon provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children, youth and adults living with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
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