It’s going to be a hectic, wonderful weekend at Long Beach State, so it’s only right to kick things off with a nice, relaxing brunch in the USU Ballroom. Hundreds of people gathered to kick off the weekend’s events by marking the 40th anniversary of the Special Olympics Southern California’s Summer Games. They also gathered to honor Rafer Johnson, the man who founded SOSC 40 years ago, hosting a Summer Games with four athletes participating in one sport—his guidance has helped the organization grow to where it is now, hosting its biggest ever Summer Games, with over 1,100 athletes on the Long Beach State campus.
Pete Waldron, a Special Olympics athlete talked about what the games had meant to him throughout his life, and his mother Jane, concurred. “Our lives have been made so much sweeter by the home we have in Special Olympics.”
Bill Shumard, current president and CEO of SOSC, thanked Johnson and talked about the unparalleled sportsmanship of the annual games. “Sports is a mirror of our society, and everything good and great about sports is typified by this event,” he said. The many sponsors of the SOSC took a bow before yielding the floor to featured speakers including James Worthy, Martin Sheen, and Anita DeFrantz.
Worthy echoed Shumard’s sentiments in saying he thought, “The NBA would do themselves a great favor by coming, and watching these events.”
Sheen cracked that, “There are four things America has brought to the world that are universally beloved: Jazz, AA, the Peace Corps, and the Special Olympics.” Two of those things, he pointed out to us after the brunch, were invented by the Kennedy family.
Johnson, finding a moment to speak in between being honored (he was presented with a plaque signed by one athlete from each of the 40 games, and state assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal also took the microphone to commend him), stressed the importance of keeping the games vital and thriving, because of the good they do for the athletes. “We all know that through their achievements on the field, the athletes are better students, butter in their families, and better at their jobs. It certainly allows them to contribute in their community—they believe what happens with them in Special Olympics is just as important as anything in sports.”
For more on what these great athletes are doing on the field, as well as our interview with Misty May-Treanor, come back tomorrow as we continue our coverage of the Summer Games—make sure you check out Dan Steinbacher’s great photo gallery on the front page!
SOSC President and ex-LBSU AD Bill Shumard
NBA legend James Worthy
President Bartlett, AKA Martin Sheen
SOSC founder Rafer Johnson