When I found out that I was selected to be on the 2025 Final Leg Team, I was at the Massachusetts State House for the annual Special Olympics Massachusetts day, where we honor Special Olympics by talking about the power of inclusion to State Senators and Representatives. There, Stephanie Esposito, AVP of Development, Fundraising & Partner Engagement, came up to talk to me about the Final Leg Team and said that I would be part of it. My reaction was very happy, and I was jumping around!

With the Final Leg Team, all week leading up to Summer Games, I went to places around Massachusetts.  We visited Bank of America, Massachusetts State House, Plymouth Police Academy, Arabella Insurance Group, Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of MA-RI, Point 32 Health & Tufts Health Plan, Massachusetts State Police Academy, MassMutual, Hampden  County Sheriff’s  Office,  Meyers Brothers  Kalicka, P.C., Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Worcester Police Department, and Boston Scientific.

My favorite stop was the Massachusetts State Police Academy, Arabella Insurance Group, and Bank of America because I enjoyed being there to listen to those businesses. We were saying the cadence cheer as well, which was so much fun.

At the stops, I read my speech that I wrote for the Special Olympics Final Leg Team. It showed that we athletes have a voice that matters to talk about Special Olympics and how inclusion matters and the power it gives to athletes. My favorite part of the Final Leg was seeing all of the places across the state of  Massachusetts and reading my speech to those places to honor inclusion.

I had the pleasure of meeting Final Leg Team members; they were very nice people, and I enjoyed talking to them and now we are friends. Those names of athletes and officers are James  DiGianvittorio, Rick Pierce, Chris Liacos, Dana Delorenzo, Larry Jedrey (LJ), Dianne Kirkpatrick, Allison MCann, Trista Manchuso, Ryan Maxfield, Pat Dooney, Marcus Vieira, Larry Crosman, Kristine Crosman, Cheri Burton, Andy Larose, Ben Ragazzo, Danny Williamson, Deidre Cotter. The Final Leg Team was a great experience, and I will cherish every moment of it.

We had bonding activities like Topgolf and went out to dinner.  They taught me to be brave and fight for my dreams. My favorite part being on the Final Leg Team was hanging out with everyone and talking to them, as well and running with them and hearing speeches from each of them.

Being part of Summer Games Opening Ceremonies with the Final Leg Team was an incredible experience. I walked in the stadium to do the high five tunnel with athletes, and I was feeling joy and excitement. I was chosen to carry the Flame of Hope at the end of Opening Ceremonies and light the cauldron to announce the 2025 Summer Games open, and I was feeling very proud of myself and honored.

The Team showed me how to be brave and honor Guardians of the Flame and stand tall.  I have a lot of memories, and I have new friends from Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg Team for Special Olympics. I will treasure it always in my heart and keep fighting my dreams. We are all champions in Special Olympics. This changed my life—being part of Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg Team, I will cherish all of it.

Below is one of the cadences we said throughout the week as the Special Olympics MA Final Leg Team:

Every Where We Go

Everywhere we go,

People want to know,

Who we are,

So, we tell them,

We are the Torch Run,

Mighty, mighty Torch Run,

Special Olympics Torch Run,

Law Enforcement Torch Run,

Final Leg Torch Run,

World-Wide Torch Run,

Torch Run,

Torch Run,

Torch Run.

Anne is a member of the Special Olympics MA Content Squad. The mission of Special Olympics MA Athlete Leadership is to empower athletes to develop communication skills and utilize their voices to assume meaningful leadership roles. As members of the Content Squad, athlete leaders contribute to Special Olympics MA story-telling through interviews, photos, video creation, and more.