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History of Special Olympics Hamilton County
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
  • 1993
    Heather McNew started a Special Olympic program so her brother, Sam, could participate. He was her only athlete that year. They were called the McNew family delegation and participated in track and field at the area and state meets.
  • 1994
    Tarah Amos became the second athlete. They became Hamilton Heights Special Olympics and participated in track and field and bowling.
  • 1995
    Seven athletes participated this year.
  • 1996
    Eleven athletes now made up Hamilton Heights Special Olympics.
  • 1997
    Unified partners became a big part of the team and the growth continued. Heather became Mrs. Derek Stephenson and she was named Area 8 Special Olympic Coach of the Year.
  • 1998
    Hamilton Heights Special Olympics sent 26 athletes to track and field competition this year. Brad Marcum and his family were given the Area 8 Spirit of Special Olympics Family Award at the spring games.
  • 1999
    Heather was chosen to coach Team Indiana's track and field team at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in North Carolina. A new group called Special Olympics Hamilton County began to take shape. Kathie Stretch was the first coordinator. After much discussion, thoughtful decisions and more than a few tears, Hamilton Heights decided to join this group and become one big county team. Heather was elected county coordinator and a committee was formed to get the group up and running. Kathie became the fund raising coordinator. Sam McNew and his family were given the Area 8 Family Award at the spring games and received the Special Olympics Indiana Spirit of Special Olympics Family Award at the state conference. Basketball and Cheerleading are added to track & field, bowling, and swimming. Two basketball teams win their sectionals and go to state competition at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
  • 2000
    Zack Gunn and family receive the Area 8 Spirit of Special Olympics Family Award. Special Olympics Hamilton County holds their first Recognition and Awards Program to recognize athletes and thank volunteers. A Dance-A-Thon fund-raising event is added as an annual affair. A pilot golf program with 8 athletes is added and will be open to everyone in 2001. Distance Walking & Running and Flag Football become new sports. The first Fall Classic for these sports, plus swimming is held on the IUPUI campus in October.
  • 2001
    SOHC once again sends two basketball teams to the state finals in Terre Haute. Special Olympics Hamilton County has athletes competing at the national level for the first time. Two unified bowling teams compete at the National Unified Bowling Tournament in Reno, Nevada. Heather participates in the Polar Bear Plunge in March to raise money for SOHC. The number of registered athletes has risen to 251.
  • 2002
    SOHC moved into the world of technology with our own website thanks to our new PR director, Angie Quick. We added Motor Activities Training Program (MATP) to our sports. The first Basketball Skills Exhibition and Training was held at Noblesville High School. Heather again took the Polar Bear Plunge into Eagle Creek but she was not alone this time. She and brother, Sam, won the costume contest. They were the Stars and Stripes. There were a total of 7 plungers from Hamilton County this time. SOHC participated in the first annual plane pull. SOHC sent 3 teams to the National Unified Bowling Tournament in Billings, Montana. At the annual Recognition Program, Gerald Honea was named athlete of the year. The coach of the year was Steve Knollman. Jim Held was Unified Partner of the year, Missee Foster was Volunteer of the Year and the Cauthon Family received the Family of the year award. Steve, Mary, Jamie and Molly Cauthon received the Area 8 award and went on the receive the State Spirit of Special Olympics Family award for 2002 because of their dedication to our swimming program. Our number of athletes and volunteers continues to grow.
  • 2003
    Special Olympics Hamilton County continues to grow in number of athletes, volunteers, and sports. For the first time we sent athletes and unified partners outside the United States to compete in the 2003 World Games in Dublin, Ireland. Athlete Zack Gunn and Unified Partner Jim Gunn (golf) and Athlete Cristina Neeb and Unified Partner Missee Foster (bowling) were chosen for this honor. Two unified bowling teams of 2 athletes and 2 partners each participated at the National Bowling Tourney in Knoxville , TN. SOHC brought home the trophy for raising the most money at the Polar Bear Plunge. The honors given at the annual recognition program went to Cristina Neeb (Athlete of the Year), Glenn Roberts (Coach of the Year), Zack, Jim & Donna Gunn (Family of the Year), Angie Quick (Volunteer of the Year), and Ashley Haltom & Lindsey Gray (Volunteer Partners of the Year.) Cristina was also named Area 8 Athlete of the Year. Softball was added as a new sport for SOHC. A Teacher's BowlAThon was added as an annual fundraiser. Our coordinator, Heather Stephenson & her husband, Derek, welcomed their first baby girl. Turner Marie Stephenson was born on September 15 th .
  • 2004
    A second daughter joined the Stephenson family. Quincy Ryan Stephenson was born on March 16 th . Three teams went to the National Bowling Tournament in Reno , Nevada . Awards given at the annual recognition program went to Sam McNew (Athlete of the Year), John Moore (Coach of the Year), Robin, Bradley & Lucas Serauskis (Family of the Year), Sue McNew (Volunteer of the Year), and Hannah Cramer (Unified Partner of the Year). Sam McNew was also name Area 8 winner of Athlete of the Year. A county ALPs (Athlete Leadership Programs) was started with Missee Foster as the coordinator.
  • 2005
    Sam McNew was named as Special Olympics Hamilton County 's first winner of the Indiana Athlete of the Year at the state Conference in February. Hamilton County sent 3 bowling teams to the National Bowling Tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana . (to be continued)

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