From the Desk of the CEO: August 2025
From the Desk of the CEO: August 2025
In my last message, I talked about “Risks Worth Taking” — and taking one of those risks has already paid off in a big way. Earlier this year, we launched a brand-new summer season for golf and softball.
This shift was part of our broader “Future of Sport” vision. Not everyone agreed with the change, but we listened to feedback from athletes and coaches and then moved forward together. The result? A huge success. Participation in golf and softball nearly doubled this year, with 1,400 athletes involved. Twenty softball teams competed at the championship, and 90 athletes played in the golf championship. Change can be hard — but it can also open doors.
Restructuring for a Stronger Future
We also took a major step a few years ago when we began regionalizing our structure across the state. That shift wasn’t always easy or popular, but we knew it was necessary to better serve our athletes. The old structure couldn’t support the growth we needed.
We officially completed that transformation in late 2024 with the hiring of our final regional staff in Susquehanna Valley. While a few roles remain open, the foundation is in place. Regional teams of staff and volunteers will now lead the way, creating more local support and more opportunities in every corner of Pennsylvania.
A Big Goal: Doubling Our Reach
Everyone involved with Special Olympics Pennsylvania believes in the power of sport to change lives and we’ve already accomplished so much in our first 50 years. But we’re just getting started. Right now, we serve less than 4% of Pennsylvanians with an intellectual disability. By 2030, we want to double that number and make sure the experience is high-quality from start to finish.
That means more training sites. More coaches. More local teams stepping up to work with our regional staff. We’re already investing in staff to support coach education and local program development so we can grow smart and grow strong.
Expanding Unified and Athlete Wellness
We’re also committed to growing the things that make our movement truly inclusive: Unified Sports in communities, Unified Champion Schools, and Unified Leadership. These programs don’t just bring people together — they change hearts and minds. We’ll also keep pushing forward on athlete health, fitness, and well-being, because a healthy athlete is a thriving athlete.
Help Shape SOPA’s Next Strategic Plan
Right now, each of our 9 regions is developing its own plan based on the unique needs, opportunities, and challenges in their communities. These regional plans are being combined with department plans from headquarters to shape our 2026–2030 Strategic Plan.
An initial draft will be reviewed by our Board of Directors this month. Many of you — athletes, families, volunteers, and staff — have already contributed to it. But we want even more feedback before the final plan is approved in November.
We’ll be offering several ways to get involved:
- Local in-person meetings
- An online survey
- And an open email inbox for ideas, suggestions, or concerns
We want you to be part of shaping where we go next.
Together, the Best Is Yet to Come
This is a turning point for us. We’re proud of how far we’ve come — and excited about where we’re headed. Thank you for your passion, your trust, and your belief in the power of what we can do together. There’s never been a more exciting time to be part of Special Olympics Pennsylvania.
The best is truly yet to come.
From the Desk of the CEO: April 2025
From the Desk of the CEO: April 2025
Dear Special Olympics Pennsylvania Community,
This is the first of what will become regular updates “from the desk of the CEO.” Several times per year (approximately quarterly), I will provide insights and updates on topics and events that are important to our Movement and share my perspectives as the CEO. I wanted to start this month by addressing something that recently sparked, in less than a week, the most engagement across all social media platforms that we’ve ever seen.
Risks Worth Taking
As some of you may know, I began my career as a Naval Flight Officer flying off aircraft carriers. Flight operations on a moving ship, at night, and in bad weather are inherently risky. But, these operations are conducted routinely. The risks are not cavalierly ignored – they are mitigated and managed to levels deemed acceptable. They are risks worth taking in order to accomplish the mission.
While the operations of Special Olympics are very different than carrier flight operations, we are also confronted with risks. As an organization, we should not be afraid to take risks. But, the risks we take should be worth taking.
Recently, a moment of unfiltered passion about Special Olympics Pennsylvania went viral when comedian Shane Gillis—who has a family member who competes as a SOPA athlete—declared, “Special Olympics PA… that sh*t rocks!” at a live event, moments before he and Pat McAfee each donated $50,000 to support our athletes.
In one raw, unfiltered sentence, Shane captured what so many of us feel in our hearts but often express differently or perhaps don’t say at all. This Movement does rock! It’s bold. It’s emotional. It’s gritty. It’s real. It’s powerful. But for some, the language was unexpected—even uncomfortable. And that’s where the conversation really began.
The video from this event resonated with a broad, younger audience and instantly went viral, offering us a powerful opportunity to amplify our message of inclusion in new spaces to reach individuals who might not have been familiar with SO and/or may have had misperceptions about people with ID. If we were going to tap into this viral moment, we knew that we had to act quickly. We also knew we were taking a risk, and by acting on this moment some people might love it and others might be upset.
This moment also sparked a second conversation – one that was a bit surprising but also necessary – a conversation about inclusion. True inclusion isn’t just access to sports. It’s a seat at the table. We cannot ask the world to see our athletes as full, respected, contributing adults if we’re not doing so ourselves. That means giving them the microphone. That means trusting them with leadership. And, that means they show up in the mainstream, on social media, in moments of humor, strength, and pride – just like everyone else.
I consulted with several stakeholders before we launched our brief campaign, including our board, Special Olympics North America, and some external partners. After those consultations, I deemed that the risks were worth taking in order to reach a new audience and meet them where they were, and I gave the “green light” to proceed.
Responses overall were positive (favorable reactions outweighed negative ones by more than 10 to 1). That said, we respect and understand that the tone of this campaign may not feel appropriate or comfortable to everyone. I am sorry that some were offended, and I appreciate the many differing perspectives that were shared.
Moving forward, you will continue to see us take risks, if and when we believe those risks are worth taking. They won’t all be “edgy” risks like the most recent case, but you will see us push boundaries that may make some people uncomfortable. Here are two examples. First, we are on the cutting edge of implementing new technology for the Movement. You should already be familiar with the volunteer portal that was launched last year, and most of you have heard about the new athlete registration portal being launched this Spring. These developments are part of a broader global effort called the “Digital Center of Excellence (COE),” and SOPA is one of several state Programs working with Special Olympics, Inc. on the development effort. By being one of the first Programs to employ this technology (and we were the very first Program in the world to go live with the volunteer portal!), we have an important voice in shaping the design of the system and setting priorities for development. But, there is also more risk by being first. Even though our staff team is working diligently with the COE developers to identify and address challenges during development and testing phases so that users – athletes, families, and volunteers – won’t encounter these problems when they use the system, there is always some risk that there will be “bugs” or kinks that have to be ironed out. We deemed these risks acceptable in order to position SOPA as a leader in the Movement and to enable us to deliver solutions to our constituents as quickly as possible.
The second example involves our work to create a “Future of Sports” vision. We have been working not only with many SOPA staff and volunteers but also leaders from other Special Olympics Programs and SO North America to create a vision for the future of our program and service offerings. Some of the early fruit from those efforts is the addition of a 4th season and our upcoming softball and golf championships this summer.
As we look to the future and how to best meet the needs and desires of our athletes, we will continue to push boundaries and take risks that are worth taking. Please know that none of this changes who we are or what we’re about – building a more joyful and inclusive world. This is not about abandoning our past – it’s about building on it. And, it’s about expanding the circle—not changing who belongs in it.
I’ll share more about our work and our vision for 2030 in future newsletter updates. Until then, thank you ALL for your passion and support on this journey together. The best is yet to come!
Pittsburgh Polar Plunge Raises Record-Breaking $1 Million
(Pittsburgh, PA – February 27, 2024) - Special Olympics Three Rivers Region has announced that the 14th annual Pittsburgh Polar Plunge shattered its original fundraising goal of $750,000 over the weekend raising a staggering $1,075,901, an increase of nearly 50% over last year’s totals. This marks the first time in history Special Olympics Pennsylvania has raised more than a million dollars in a single fundraiser.
More than 4,300 plungers from local schools, community groups and corporations were “freezin’ for a reason” as they plunged into frigid waters outside of Acrisure Stadium (February 23-24) and at Station Square (Feb 2) to raise funds in support of the region’s more than 4,000 Special Olympics athletes.
“Pittsburgh continues to show up in huge ways for Special Olympics athletes in our community,” said Andrew Fee, Executive Director for Special Olympics Pennsylvania, Three Rivers Region. “This incredible milestone will help us increase our impact in the community by getting more individuals with intellectual disabilities engaged with our life-changing programming. Because of this historic achievement, we will be able grow the number of schools involved with Special Olympics as well as offer more sports, health, and leadership opportunities – at no charge – to athletes around our region.”
The Polar Plunge events kicked off February 2 with the Super Plunge at Station Square and continued over the past weekend at Acrisure Stadium. Additionally, nearly 2,000 students from around the region participated in the Cool Schools plunge Friday morning and local corporations raised over $100,000 on Friday evening at a happy hour plunge hosted by Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and sponsored by Calgon Carbon. More than 60 corporate sponsors partnered with Special Olympics to make this year’s event possible.
The annual Polar Plunge fundraiser helps to support the local region’s quality training and competitions in 24 sports, leadership training, and health initiatives for Special Olympics athletes throughout the year.
About Special Olympics Pennsylvania
Special Olympics Pennsylvania provides year-round training and competition in 21 Olympic-type sports to more than 13,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities or closely related developmental disabilities. For more information about how you can join “The Inclusion Revolution,” visit www.specialolympicspa.org.
2023 Philadelphia Insurance Companies Valor Award Winner: Michael Paulinski
Each year during Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Fall Festival, the Philadelphia Insurance Companies Valor Award is given to an athlete whose effort, determination and sportsmanship embodies the power of the human spirit to overcome challenges and inspire greatness.
We are proud and honored to announce that MICHAEL PAULINSKI from Montgomery County is our 2023 Valor Award Winner!
Michael has been a Special Olympics athlete for more than 30 years, participating in volleyball (his favorite sport), basketball, swimming and powerlifting. Additionally, Michael is a trained Global Messenger and an amazing advocate for the disability community.
While Michael may not be an all-star athlete his coach, Kerry Leraris, says he always lends his support to the team -- through both his words and actions. From carrying uniform and medical bags, to clearing lunch trays for his teammates, to high-fiving everyone throughout a match, Michael is always eager to assist.
Both Michael’s mother (Cathy) and father (Joe) were heavily involved as volunteers with Special Olympics. Unfortunately, Michael’s mother passed away in 2007 and his father passed away this September. Joe was Michael’s best friend. Following Joe’s passing, Michael called all of his teammates and coaches individually to relay the news, further exemplifying what a family atmosphere he and his Montgomery County teammates and coaches have cultivated. Michael then worked with his sister to ensure that Joe’s funeral service didn’t conflict with a volleyball tournament the team was scheduled to participate in. During that tournament, Michael played two of the best games of his life in honor of his father.
Michael Paulinski truly exemplifies what it means to be a Special Olympics Pennsylvania athlete. Please help us congratulate him on this incredible honor! CONGRATULATIONS, MICHAEL!! 🤩🏆🎉
Maryellen Brown: 2022 Annette K. Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award Winner!
Every year, Special Olympics North America recognizes a coach for their contributions to their athletes, program and the moment over the course of their entire career.
We are beyond excited, overjoyed and flat-out PROUD to announce that Maryellen Brown is this year's recpient of the Annette K. Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award!!!!
Maryellen, who is from Area M in the Capital Area Region, has been coaching Special Olympics for FIFTY-TWO YEARS!! Throughout the course of her illustrious career, Maryellen has coached athletics, basketball, floor hockey and volleyball. What began as volunteering as a college student at Lock Haven University has blossomed into trips throughout Pennsylvania and to numerous USA Games and World Games. Additionally, Maryellen has held a variety of committee positions, management team roles and served as a Sports Director and on our Board of Directors.
Maryellen, also a member of Special Olympics Pennsylvania's Hall of Fame, has helped train other coaches to achieve their true potential for more than 20 years and she's the biggest fan and supporter of our athletes both on and off the playing field. She focuses on teaching our athletes the importance of health and fitness throughout training. When installing a new element in practice, Maryellen always explains why a drill is important and how it's going to help the team achieve its ultimate goal. Her athletes respect and listen to her and also have a ton of fun as a tight-knit community.
Maryellen emphasizes the importance of how people respond when facing adverse situations, both in sport and in life, and the respect and admiration her athletes, peers and friends & family have for her perpetually shines.
Please, please, please join us in congratulating Maryellen Brown -- winner of the 2022 Special Olympics North America Annette K. Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award!
