New Year, New Savings. Look for the P&GbrandSAVER on Jan. 1

Coupons for a Cause: For 30 years, P&G has been a loyal supporter of Special Olympics, and this year is no exception.

It’s almost time for the annual P&GbrandSAVER® promotion! On Sunday, January 1, 2012, keep an eye out for your P&GbrandSAVER® coupon book in your local newspaper. With more than $95 in savings in each book, you can feel good about purchasing your favorite products, especially when the savings also translate into funds for Special Olympics.

For each coupon redeemed, P&G will donate 3 cents to Special Olympics. And there’s no limit! So get your coupon books and help change someone’s life.  Find a local newspaper that carries the P&GbrandSAVER® coupon book.

Statistics Don’t Lie

By: Bill Shumard

The late Ronald Reagan, in response to his media critics, once said it was time to quit reading the reviews and check the box office results. Well-stated. Numbers have a way of quantifying reality.

To that end, let me provide a few statistics that quantify SOSC’s tremendous success in 2011:

Join us for the Fall Games Championships

By: Dustin Plunkett

To all the people out there in Southern California, next weekend is the Special Olympics Southern California Fall Games Championships on November 12 and 13at the Fountain Valley Sports Park, Fountain Bowl, and the The RINKS – Irvine Inline. If you have never seen a Special Olympics competition before, I urge you to come see this one. More than 1,100 athletes will be competing in softball, soccer, tennis, bowling, volleyball, and floor hockey.

“What Both Sides Are Saying…”

By: Bill Shumard

I saw “Moneyball” last week and was reminded that the movie, based on the book, tells the story of Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane transforming his organization by recognizing that overlooked players contribute significant value to a team. He overturned conventional wisdom and upended baseball’s domination by wealthier teams by using data to measure performance.

Comparisons that come to mind in other sectors include Japanese autoworkers out-competing Detroit by systematically tapping into the ideas and suggestions of assembly line workers. Also, Southwest Airlines has consistently been today’s most profitable U.S. airline because of the positive attitude of the employees in direct contact with customers, and because workers in the background cooperate as a team to quickly turn around the planes.

This reminds me of my gratitude for SOSC’s culture of teamwork. Our mutual respect and willingness to hear each other can never be discounted. “Team effort” is the underlying reason for SOSC’s ability to thrive during these difficult and trying times.

Being Inspired by our Athletes

By: Bill Shumard

During the course of the Disneyland Half-Marathon, I caught up with Alan Frye, father of SOSC athlete A.J. Frye, who was competing in the race.

Alan spoke glowingly of A.J.’s increased confidence, physical health and competitiveness since becoming a Special Olympics athlete about five years ago. Since that time, A.J. has become an “elite” runner, training vigorously while thoughtfully planning his workouts and course strategy.

In short, according to Alan, A.J.’s life has taken on a whole new dimension. He now has many friends (including a girlfriend who is also an SOSC athlete) and is advancing in life with great confidence.

It’s That Time of Year!

By: Bill Shumard

When I was a collegiate Athletics Director, I often envied our head coaches. They were the ones who got to spend time daily, influencing the lives of our young student-athletes.

While it’s a great honor to serve as SOSC’s lead executive, my hands-on exposure to our athletes is something I have to seek out…and I’m so glad I continue to make the effort.

Saturday’s Regional Spring Games at Cal Poly Pomona saw our athletes from the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley regions competing in basketball, athletics and bocce.

It was a gorgeous day on a scenic campus. Our staff did a terrific job in carrying out the logistics, resulting in a terrific experience for our athletes.

Learning from our Athletes

By: Bill Shumard

I recently experienced two inspirational moments involving a pair of our long-time athletes that I want to share with you.

A few weeks ago, as part of the SOI Selection Team’s visit to Los Angeles for the 2015 World Games bid, we asked a few of our key athletes to join us each day for the festivities.

Why We Do What We Do

By: Bill Shumard

As an organization, SOSC is clear on WHAT it does — providing sports training and competition to people with intellectual disabilities — and we are confident that our movement does this better than anyone else in the world.

We are also clear on HOW we do it — a well-thought-out Strategic Plan that is providing us with a roadmap to a successful future.

However, any great organization should also identify WHY we do what we do. An article in last Saturday’s Los Angeles Times helped me crystalize my answer to this question.

Announcing an Exciting, New Partnership!

By: Bill Shumard

I’m here in San Antonio, Texas, at the annual NCAA Convention, where I just had the privilege of making an important announcement.  The NCAA Division III institutions across the country have officially “adopted” Special Olympics as their community outreach partners.

The relationship will be managed by the Student-Athlete Advisory Councils on each campus.  In fact, I was told this morning that more than 200 relationships with Special Olympics programs already exist around the country.  Our job will be to foster and grow current relationships and forging new ones.

An Unexpected Gift

By: Bill Shumard

I received a most unusual Christmas gift this year and wanted to share my experience with all of you.

I have shared many stories about the friends I grew up with–The Poor Boys From Compton (PBFC). A handful of us have stayed in-touch for a half-century now, holding each other accountable to the values and priorities we grew up with. One PBFC member, Dean Cree, is suffering from Huntington’s Disease, a particularly cruel disease that severely hampers one’s mental and physical capacities.