We want to wish you and your family a very healthy and happy holiday season! Your efforts have helped provide many opportunities for thousands of Special Olympics Minnesota athletes. The programs and events we offer are life-changing for so many. Thank you for all you have done in 2023! We look forward to our continued partnership in the coming year.

Athlete highlight: Brittany Beaulieu

My name is Brittany Beaulieu. I have been involved with Special Olympics Minnesota (SOMN) for 15 years now. I had been to Special Olympics events before I started participating. I had gone to watch my Uncle Kenny who has been involved with SOMN for a long time. My Uncle Kenny and I both are on the South Region Stars for the swim team. I have been with the South Region Stars swim team since 2014.

I participate in softball, track & field, flag football, floor hockey, bowling and swimming. I am with the Maplewood Monarchs for most sports that I participate in. And just swimming with the South Region Stars. I enjoy being on both teams for my sports. The coaches for both teams are amazing, and the athletes are great teammates. I have done 3 or 4 years of the Polar Plunge for SOMN. I enjoy doing the Polar Plunge and will keep going until I decide I am done! I will then do the "Too Chicken to Plunge" instead. That is where you throw a rubber chicken in the lake.

I have completed some of the ALPs courses (ALPs means Athlete Leadership Program). The courses that I have done are Athletes as Coaches, Beginner Global Messenger, LETR Ambassador, Athlete Leadership 101, and Health & Wellness Ambassador. I do plan on doing more ALPs courses over the years. ALPs helps athletes in learning more on the topics and get more involved with SOMN.

I am new to LETR and I want to get more involved. I would like to get the word out about SOMN and what it means to me as an athlete, coach and a mom of an athlete now. SOMN has a big impact because they allow athletes' voices to be heard. It allows others to see what people with intellectual disabilities train for and that we are not weird or odd. We want to be treated just like everyone else and be accepted. Special Olympics strives to create a better world by fostering the acceptance and inclusion of all people. It is important being a part of LETR and having others know that people with intellectual disabilities are not different.

I recently went to the Orlando, Florida for the 2022 USA Games. I participated in swimming. I had an amazing time! It was a great opportunity as an athlete and I would not change a thing. It’s been a goal of mine to go. It was an opportunity of a lifetime! Bonding with the athletes and the coaches for team Minnesota was the best. I loved the coaches I had for the swim team and couldn’t have asked for better coaches.

My teammates are amazing. We became a family while we trained for the USA Games and even more of a family when we were at the Games in Orlando for a week. I will cherish the memories we made and hold them close in my heart.

I am blessed that my family got to be there to watch and cheer me on for the Games. I got to show my son that you can reach your dreams if you work hard for it. And now my son can participate as an SOMN athlete. We will get to share more memories together.

Event spotlight: Polar Plunge

We’re looking forward to the 2024 Plunge season, which begins the last weekend of January and ends in May. This is the biggest LETR fundraising campaign of the year, so please find a Plunge location and register your team or volunteer. This is another great event that brings together many of our law enforcement partners, SOMN athletes and our communities. 

Event recap: LETR International Conference

The 2023 LETR International Conference was held in November. Over 30 people representing the Minnesota LETR movement attended the Conference. It was great to reconnect in person with many other LETR programs throughout the world.

Two big highlights we celebrated at the conference:

- Rick Doll (retired Minneapolis Park Police Department, pictured center left) received the John Carion Unsung Hero award.

- Our Minnesota program receiving second place for the highest net revenue in the world!

We are hoping to bring even more participants next year before Minnesota hosts the 2025 LETR International Conference. The 2024 Conference will be in San Antonio. A link to the application will be sent out next year when we begin our planning.

Event recap: Truck Convoy

In early October we held our annual Truck Convoy, a 2-day event that helps raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Minnesota athletes. The truckers meet at Running Aces Casino & Racetrack and convoy along a pre-determined route. Thank you to all who make this event so special every year!

Event recap: Tip-A-Cops

November 29 - Texas Roadhouse, St. Cloud

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and several surrounding agencies (Albany PD, Sartell PD, Belgrade/Brooten PD and Waite Park PD) hosted a Tip-A-Cop at Texas Roadhouse last month. Officers and athletes from the Granite City Rocks and St. Cloud Community teams had a great time collecting donations and "serving" diners. They raised an amazing $3,400 and hope to host another Tip-A-Cop in the spring!

November 30 - Rancho Loco, Red Wing

Thank you to Rancho Loco and the Red Wing Police Department for hosting a great Tip-A-Cop event last month as well. There was great attendance, and athletes from the local Red Wing delegation helped greet patrons and collect donations alongside officers. In just 2 hours, this event raised $1,500, 100% benefiting Special Olympics Minnesota and its mission of inclusion!

Upcoming Tip-A-Cops

Thurs Dec 14 | 11-1 PM & 5-8 PM

Glynner's Pub, Rochester

Head to Glynner’s Pub to enjoy a great meal, support Special Olympics Minnesota and be "served" by local law enforcement from the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office and Rochester Police Department. Enjoy the full menu or a $12 burger or pulled pork sandwich and chip special. Athletes from the Rochester Flyers Special Olympics team will be there!

Fri Dec 15 | 5-8 PM

Moose Bar & Grill, NE Minneapolis

Kick off your weekend at the Moose Bar & Grill to enjoy a great meal, support Special Olympics Minnesota and be "served" by local officers from the Minneapolis Police Department and partnering agencies!

Officers serve as celebrity waiters at restaurants and donate all the tips they receive to Special Olympics Minnesota. Tip-A-Cop fundraisers are a fun and easy way for officers to raise money and interact with their community while supporting local businesses.

If you're interested in organizing a Tip-a-Cop in your community, please reach out to Emma Fiedler at emma.fiedler@somn.org. 

LETR highlight: Miranda Wagner

Hello! My name is Miranda Wagner. I have been a Special Agent with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and assigned to Rochester, MN, for about a year. I previously worked with the Richfield Police Department (RPD) for nearly seven years.

I became involved with Special Olympics Minnesota (SOMN) shortly after I started with RPD as the representative for the police department. After a couple of years of representing Richfield, I began to represent Hennepin County as a regional coordinator. Shortly thereafter, I began to represent Minnesota as a member of the Law Enforcement Torch Run’s Executive Council.

In this role, I work with the council to continually improve fundraising efforts and try to help provide guidance to various agencies on how to include SOMN events in their community policing programs. My favorite part about my role is my time with the athletes.

I am so fortunate to have close friendships I have developed through SOMN (hi Dave Persons!). I have a decade worth of Plunges under my belt and have participated in Torch Runs as well as Cop On Top and Tip-A-Cop events for the past 7 years.

After my very first event, I quickly fell in love with the movement and my time with SOMN athletes, and so I worked to increase RPD’s involvement with SOMN. We began to host various local events and became more involved in events/competitions outside of Richfield. I am extremely fortunate to have such wonderful partners at RPD and throughout the state who made my SOMN involvement successful and a total blast. I am equally lucky to work alongside the terrific people at SOMN.

After my very first event, I quickly fell in love with the movement and my time with SOMN athletes, and so I worked to increase RPD’s involvement with SOMN. We began to host various local events and became more involved in events/competitions outside of Richfield. I am extremely fortunate to have such wonderful partners at RPD and throughout the state who made my SOMN involvement successful and a total blast. I am equally lucky to work alongside the terrific people at SOMN.

Being involved with SOMN is important to me from a professional standpoint, but it's also a special part of my personal life. My husband and daughter regularly join me at SOMN events. I love the positive energy, the inclusiveness and the bravery shown by our athletes, and it keeps us coming back for more!

I am extremely grateful for my experience with SOMN and look forward to continuing to support the amazing athletes across the state of Minnesota.

"Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt!"

"Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt!"

Community engagement

We always enjoy seeing our law enforcement officers at our events and activities. Whether you're stopping by to watch and cheer on our athletes or Plungers, bringing guests to introduce them to SOMN, handing out awards or picking up a volunteer shift, your engagement in our mission is always appreciated!

We have 1 event coming up at the end of January. Our Regional State Poly Hockey competition is January 28-29 at Stillwater High School. If you are interested in volunteering, email Lou Ann for more information at louann.kelly@somn.org. 

Check out our LETR webpage! We have information on all our LETR events, new recruitment presentations and handouts, information about open positions on our Executive Council and much more. To get further involved with the Law Enforcement Torch Run, visit somn.org/letr or contact Kean Corkery at kean.corkery@somn.org.