The first day was not to early of a start we all loaded up on the team RV's at 9am to head to the Iowa State University Campus to start the Final Leg with a Torch Lighting ceremony at the site of the 2006 Special Olympics National Games.
I woke up both a little tired and nervous. Jana Rooker, Jake Johnson and I had made a late night Wal-Mart run for our RV for supplies for the night before plus for a few other supplies to have a little fun. I wanted to get window chalk and put "Lincoln or Bust" on the back window of all of the RV's. After our trip to Wal-Mart we were sneaking around the parking lot of our hotel like a couple little teenagers tee peeing a house... But it was worth it the next morning when all of the teams came out to the RV's everyone was talking about it. I think Mike Teem seemed to enjoy it, he had a little smile on his face when he saw it.
We loaded up the team's den on wheels for the next week to take the short trek to Iowa State University. We were treated to a great community breakfast celebration held in honor of the Final Leg Team. We were joined by all of the Iowa athletes that will compete in the 2010 National Games. They were so excited to see all of the officers, high fiving all of us, hugging and just smiling at us! I brought a roll of OCPD junior police stickers to give to athletes and children at the ceremonies, the athletes seemed to really loved them. I had one athlete that I gave a sticker to step back smile, stand at attention and salute me, then giving me a big hug. I just stood there in awe stuck with goosebumps and I know a huge smile on my face. The athlete then reached out for a hug and said "thank you." Times like that are what make all the aches and pains we will experince over the next week worth it.
After we mingled with the athletes and ate breakfast we participated in the flame lighting ceremony at ISU. Prior to the ceremony the team took a group photo with the Iowa athletes. The Final Leg team was all dressed in our matching red champion singlet tops with matching red tops. To say we looked sharp would be an understatment!!! All of the uniforms have the "EKS+ PlayON" logo to honor Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver for all that she did and her legacy still does for our athletes.
I am sure that Eunice Kennedy Shriver was smiling down this gorgeous July morning from heaven and saying a prayer for the officers and athletes who will be participating in the Final Leg before we begin our journey. There had to be close to 800 people watching the ceremonies if not more. The Torch was light by two members of the 2006 Final Leg Torch Run to start the ceremony and then was ran out of the ceremony by Jana Rooker and Special Olympics Iowa Athlete Michael Warren with the Final Leg Team in a columns of two behind them! We headed out from ISU and we were on the Road for two hours to our first stop in Atlantic, Iowa at the Hy-Vee food store. Hy-Vee is a grocery store chain that is a huge supporter of Special Olympics Iowa and played a major role in supporting the Final Leg in 2006 for the National Games. The Final leg was broken up into three groups of three for the first time. My team joined up with Roy Forrest (North Carolina) and Jack Harris (Vermont.)
At our first stop Jana and Robbie were the Final Leg speakers. They both did an amazing job representing their home state programs and the LETR. Robbie's speech was amazing and from the heart. He talks about all of his accomplishment; such as the Special Olympics athlete of the year for Rhode Island in 1996, being the first Special Olympics inducted into his towns athletic hall of fame an accomplishment he received for winning a gold medal in track and field at the World Games in 2003 held in Ireland and his medal with the Rhode Island basketball team at the National Games in 1996. During Robbie's speech he also talks about the "EKS+ PlayON" logo on our uniforms. Robbie was on of the athletes that attended Eunice Kennedy Shrivers funeral and not only marched in her funeral procession but as Mike Teem told all of those at the ceremony in Ames, were encouraged to huddle around the family at her grave side services along with LETR officers. Robbie refers to Eunice as the First Lady of Special Olympics and she truly is and always will be!! Mike Teem said it best in his speech in Ames, for all that the Kennedy family did for this country Eunice is the one who left the biggest mark on this country and world. I truley do believe that to be true and that mark continues to grow today!!!
After the ceremony in Atlantic the teams loaded up and headed to Omaha! The team joined up on the east side of Missouri river to run the 2.2 miles into downtown Omaha for a welcoming ceremony at ConAgra Foods. The team ran in columns of two across the footbridge that spans the Missouri. Janna Rooker and the Iowa Special Olympics athlete Michael Warren lead the Team with the "Flame of Hope" light and held high until carrying the 2006 Iowa Final Leg Torch until we reached the middle of the bridge where the 2010 Final Leg Torch was light by the Iowa torch. As the team crossed the bridge we could feel it bounce under or feet, which was eery at first but if you sit back and think about it is almost like a trampoline for our officers bouncing with every step carrying our athletes and their dreams. Nebraska Special Olympics athlete Evan Davis and Chris Weber a school resource officer from Lincoln lead the team to the ceremony as we traveled across the market district of Omaha. The market district still has brick paved streets in areas and is much like the bricktown area in Oklahoma with lots of restaurants and business. These buildings and brick streets have seen lots of history and even more now as officers and athletes run side by side heading to the National Games. At the ceremony we were two very special guest. They were Evan’s niece and nephew. Both of them were under the age of three and we wearing “Run Evan Run" shirts. Let me tell you when evan has a hold of that torch we are off for a quicker paced run. I promise you no one complains at all!!Anyone who has ever ran a torch with an athlete or in a Final Leg holding the “Flame of Hope” with an athlete will tell you he or she could feel that athletes sense of pride, happiness and energry through holding that together. That is what this movement is all about our athletes hapiness and feeling that acceptance!! That torch symboizes that and I promise you the athletes know it!
article in the Ames Tribune with quotes from Jana:
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