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Winter 2016

in Area Mwhat’supup

Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry and Northern York CountiesPO Box 382 | 55 Miller Street Summerdale, PA 17093 | 717.732.6756 | www.sopam.org

Special Olympics World Games was held in Los Angeles this summer. One of our athletes, Adam Smith, had the privilege of being a member of Team USA’s Aquatics team. He was one of just 9 athletes from Pennsylvania! Adam had the opportunity to train with Michael Phelps and had an amazing time in Los Angeles. He brought home one silver medal, two bronze medals and one 4th place ribbon. In September, Adam and the other PA member of Team USA were recognized on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Congratulations Adam!

World Games Great job Adam!

We’ll be freezin’ for a reason on Saturday, January 16, 2016! Please join us at the 2016 Capital Area Polar Plunge to benefit

Special Olympics PA – Area M at Gifford Pinchot State Park. Individuals from all over have committed to raise $50 or more to Plunge into the frozen lake in support of our athletes.

Visit www.sopam.org for more information and to register to Take the Plunge!

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Our 12th Annual Fall Sports Classic was held in Hershey on September 20, 2015. Area M hosted 18 other local programs to compete in Bocce at the Hershey Italian Lodge; Long Distance Running/Walking and Soccer at Founders Field; Powerlifting and Volleyball at Hershey High School. There were 960 athletes

and coaches participating in competition and 410 volunteers helping to make the day run smoothly! A huge thank you to the committee and all

of the volunteers for helping us to host a fun day of competition!

Thank you to The Hershey Company, Enola Sportsmens Club, Metro Bank, Ames Companies, FastSigns – Mechanicsburg, Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps,

Derry Township School District, Derry Township Parks & Rec, The Hershey Italian Lodge and many others for supporting

the Fall Sports Classic! We couldn’t do it without your support!

SAVe The dATe FOR 2016 September 18

fallsportsclassic!

Our Fall Equestrian Competition was held on Saturday, October 24th. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great day competing!

Equestrian Competition

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We had a great time celebrating the End of Summer at our Dance on August 14th with a luau theme. There were lots of

great Back-to-School items for sale at our Sportswear Sale too.

Everyone had a great time at the Halloween Dance on October 23rd. Lots of great snacks, costumes, prizes and of course great

music from DJ Tommy! Thank you to the Etown Buddies for helping with the costume awards!

Are you interested in helping organize our Dances? Contact Kristie for more information at

kdavis.aream@specialolympicspa.org or 717-732-6756

We were honored to once again participate in the Veteran’s Day Breakfast at Applebee’s on November 11th. Over 300 veterans received a free breakfast from Applebee’s. We had a great morning thanking the veterans, hearing their stories and working with the other volunteers from Honor Bus, Wounded Warrior Project and of course the staff of Applebee’s. A great time was had by all!

End of Summer and Halloween Dances

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Illuminating Greatness – Our Annual Awards Gala was held on Sunday, November 15, 2015. We had a full house of 400 attendees with special guests from Karns, Member’s 1st and Exceptional Concepts. We had a great evening celebrating our Fall 2014 – Summer 2015

training season. There were lots of great items in the Silent Auction! The Athlete Leadership Team did a wonderful job as the Master of Ceremonies. 44 awards were presented and

then we danced the night away to the tunes of DJ Tommy. Thank you to Select Medical for being a Silver Sponsor! Thank you to the committee for all of their hard work in making the

evening special for our athletes, coaches, volunteers and sponsors!

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Alpine Skiing Most Improved Joshua Colm-Diaz Outstanding Ricky EutzyAquatics Most Improved Christopher Witmer Outstanding Nate MooreAthletics Most Improved Jason Vonhauser Outstanding Robert StoneBasketball Most Improved Dalton Comp Outstanding Ethan NorthBocce Most Improved Angela Basti Outstanding Beth GreenawaltBowling Most Improved Joshua Snyder Outstanding Hope PaganoCycling Most Improved Amy Deaven Outstanding Jacob SchratzEquestrian Most Improved Abby Krevsky Outstanding Rachel WetzelFloor Hockey Most Improved Pat Ford Outstanding Austin MillikenGolf Most Improved Drew Scanlan Outstanding Jason EwingGymnastics Most Improved Jessica Kambic Outstanding Brittany RigilanoIce Speed Skating Most Improved Kenith Montgomery Outstanding Jeanette FairLDR/LDW Most Improved Jason Hock Outstanding Philip ReedPowerlifting Most Improved Joshua Poleshuk Outstanding John StrunkRoller Skating Most Improved Amanda Weidenhof Outstanding Bryan GibbsSoccer Most Improved Brady Peterson Outstanding Emily SandersSoftball Most Improved Christian Roach Outstanding Jeanette FairTennis Most Improved Elizabeth Brown Outstanding Ben StambaughVolleyball Most Improved Brandi Pechart Outstanding Michael Myers

Athlete Oath Award Zach HicksUnified Partner of the Year Taryn MockusAthlete Leadership Team Member of the Year Donhelen HodgesCoach of the Year Deb KinneyFamily of the Year Tonkin FamilyVolunteer of the Year Amanda Kateluzos

Next year’s Awards Gala will be held on Sunday, October 16, 2016

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Area MPLU540 - $1.PLU541 - $5.

PLU542 - $10.

Thank You For Your Support!dAUPhin cUMberLAnd Perry & northern york coUnties

Karns Quality Foods is a long-time, VeRY generous supporter of Area M. They declare July as Special Olympics PA – Area M month in their stores, sell Torch donation cards, have donation cans at every register and even have “Celebrity Baggers” on two Saturdays in July.

This year they not only met—but exceeded—their goal and raised $30,873 for Area M! Over the past 19 years, Karns has

donated a total of $231,891 to our program! ThANK YOU for your very generous and continued support of Special Olympics PA – Area M!

Healthy Recipe from Athlete Leadership Team

Healthy Recipe from Zach Hicks:

Scallop Kabobs• 1lbscallops• 1can(4oz)buttonmushrooms,drained• 2Tbspsaladoil• 2Tbspsoysauce•2Tbsplemonjuice• 2Tbspsnippedparsley• ½tspsalt• Dashofpepper• 12baconslices• 1can(13.5oz)pineapplechunks,drained• Greenpepperchunks

Wash scallops; remove any shell particles. Place scallops and mushrooms in a shallow glass dish. Combine oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper; pour over scallops and mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning scallops and mushrooms once.

Partially fry bacon; drain and cut slices in half. On skewers, alternate scallops, mushrooms, bacon, pineapple and green peppers.

Set oven to Broil to 550. Broil kabobs 3 inches from heat 5-8 minutes, turning once.

Can also be prepared on the Grill – cook 4 inches from coals 6-8 minutes on each side

Check Presentations THANK YOU!

Thank you to Karn’s Foods for their amazing donation of $30,873 for the Torch Sale!

Thank you to Member’s 1st FCU for their generous donation of $4,382 from Bonus Book Sales!

Thank you to TMI Exelon Generation Company for their great donation of $3,096!

Thank you Sheetz. Every time a new Sheetz opens in our area we receive a donation of $2,500!

Thank you all for your awesome generosity!

THANK’s SO MUCH!!!

wow!

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We took a delegation of 140 athletes and coaches to compete at Fall Festival hosted by Villanova University November 6-7, 2015. Our athletes competed in Bocce, Long Distance Running/Walking, Powerlifing, Rollerskating, Soccer and Volleyball. We had a great time competing, visiting O-Town and making new friends!

Area M brought home LOTS of medals:

Congratulations to the following athletes that received the Sportsmanship Award for their sports: Brandon Meck, Brandi Pechart, Eugene Ferriera and Jeff Brubaker. Thank you for being such great representatives of Area M!

Derek Eshenour was awarded The Philadelphia Insurance Companies Award of Valor at the Victory Dance on Saturday. This award is given to an athlete whose effort, determination & sportsmanship are award-winning and inspirational. They show determination and courage in the face of adversity and an ability to overcome obstacles. Way to go derek!

Bocce – 5 Gold & 1 Silver LdR/LdW – 20 Gold, 18 Silver, 7 Bronze, 6 - 4th place, 6 - 5th place, 2 - 6th place and 1 - 8th place Powerlifting – 3 Gold, 5 Silver, 1 - 4th Place, 2 - 5th Place,1 - 6th PlaceRollerskating – 26 Gold, 5 Silver and 4 Bronze Soccer – 11v11 – Gold, 7v7 – 4th Place, Skills Athlete – 5th Place Volleyball – Awesome Aces - Gold, Blasters - Bronze, Spikers – Silver,

AWESOME!

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2016 special dates

Dances – CAIU 6:30pm – 8:30pmValentine’s Dance Friday, February 12

End of Summer Dance & Sportswear Sale Friday, August 19

Halloween Dance Friday, October 28

Christmas Dance & Sportswear Sale Friday, December 9

EventsCapital Area Polar Plunge Gifford Pinchot State Park Saturday, January 16

Area M Ski Competition Ski Roundtop – Thursday, January 21

Winter Games Seven Springs Resort – February 7-9

Area M Floor Hockey Invitational Susquenita HS – Saturday, February 13

State Floor Hockey Tournament Bald Eagle HS – March 5-6

Central Bowling Sectionals Harrisburg Area – Saturday, March 19

Area M Games Messiah College – April 14

Central Spring Sectionals St Francis University – April 17

Spring Thing – TBD - May 14

Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community – HACC – May 21

Summer Games State College – June 2-4

Fall Sports Classic Hershey – September 18

Central Fall Sectionals Juniata College – September 25

Area M Awards Gala park inn – October 16

Fall Festival Villanova University – November 4-6

Area M Bowling Tournament Trindle Lanes – December 3

We love our athletesand thank our coaches

and volunteers.YOU ARE AWESOME!!!