South Section Highlights - February 2008

After an extraordinary 2007 highlighted by strong, sustainable growth in athlete & fundraising numbers, we kicked off 2008 with a bang…

• Held largest ever South Section Ten Pin bowling tournament – 219 bowlers competed at AMF Taunton Lanes on Sunday Jan. 27 and earned the right to bowl at SOMA Winter Games in Worcester

• Hosted largest ever South Section Basketball tournament – 467 Athletes & Unified Partners on 45 teams competed at Stonehill College on Sunday Feb. 10 – featuring new teams from Mansfield & Mashpee LIFE, plus representatives from South Section sponsors Bristol County Savings Bank, Enterprise Rent-A-Car & Philadelphia Insurance Companies

• Dunkin’ Donuts annual Pound of Coffee Promotion delivered a record $35,208 to support local Special Olympics teams, events and activities in southeastern Massachusetts’s Bristol County – click here for more about this amazing holiday cause promotion…

• Finalized plans and promotion of first-ever Passion Plunge Cape Cod at Old Silver Beach in Falmouth on Saturday Feb. 16 – surpassed expectations with 60 Plungers and $35,000 raised – visit www.passionplunge.org for more info

• Added 3 new corporate teams to Bristol County Corporate Games on Sunday Feb. 24 at Durfee High in Fall River – list now includes Citizen-Union Savings Bank, Bank Five, Webster Bank, Able Associates, Polyneer, Bay State Gymnastics, and Altus

• Filling up to 5 coach buses of skiers & boarders for the annual Jim Haskins Ski Challenge on Sunday March 9 at Loon Mountain – contact megan.benevides@specialolympicsma.org for details

• Thanked 4 students and their parents from Oliver Ames High School who used a combined Sweet 16 party to raise a cool $2,900 for the SOMA Easton team – click here for how they did it

• Announced – to their great surprise – the SOMA Hall of Fame Class of 2008 selections of Jessica McDonald (Scituate), Art Goyette (Dartmouth) & John Odom (Whitman-Hanson)

• Continued planning blockbuster Brockton Public Schools “Young Athletes Week” in early June for at least 500 Brockton special needs schoolchildren ages 2-7

• South Section Staff & Global Messengers presented to Taunton Special Education PAC 1/15, Brockton Rotary 1/24, Fall River Chamber of Commerce 1/24, Taunton Kiwanis 1/29, SOMA South Leadership Council/Cape Cod 1/31, Falmouth Rotary 2/5 and Brockton/Howard School Special Education PAC 2/11. Next up: Harwich Rotary, W. Bridgewater Rotary, Taunton Rotary