Special Olympics

The fourth annual celebration of "Olympians on Parade," a benefit for Special Olympics Orange County, was presented March 17 at the Disneyland Hotel Grand Ballroom in Anaheim. Attracting some 500 guests, including a major contingent of Newport-Mesans, the evening honored the outstanding achievement of both U.S. Olympians and Special Olympics athletes. The highlight of the event was the Parade of Champions, in which athletes entered the ballroom in a procession that brought cheers and tears from the large crowd.

This past week the 2009 Southern California Special Olympics, fronted by Olympian Rafer Johnson Rafer Johnson , showcased the human spirit at its finest. There was cheering and there were tears as the athletes competed in a host of games. Winning wasn’t everything; just being a part of the program was enough. But winning was, in fact, glorious. One father whose son took a first place in a swimming event sobbed uncontrollably unable to speak even one word. The Special Olympian came up to his dad, dripping water, smiling from ear to ear putting his winning wet arms around his father’s waist asking, “What’s wrong, Dad?

The Cure Parkinson's Program has joined forces with the World Team Tennis Newport Beach franchise known as the Breakers. At a celebrity match starring John McEnroe held at the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach, a formal announcement of this united front was made public The program, a national charitable organization based in Newport Beach, was founded by sports marketing guru Jim Warsaw, who suffers from Parkinson's,...

B.W. COOK It wasn't just another charity event. "Olympians on Parade," a special evening that welcomed 500 distinguished local citizens, paid tribute to U.S. Olympic athletes, with the overall purpose to shine the spotlight on Special Olympic athletes from Orange County. Founded in 1968 in the United States by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, "Special Olympics has now become the largest amateur sports organization in the world with over 160 countries providing athletic training and competition to over one million children and adults with mental retardation," Jan Lanstrom of Newport Beach said.

The Estancia High School football program helped an alumna move this month. Tammy Gavel, a Costa Mesa resident and Special Olympics gold medal winner who graduated from Estancia in 1978, needed help moving from one apartment to another that was five miles away. Her parents are 74 years old and couldn't help. So Estancia football Coach Mike Bargas and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger took an opportunity to teach the football players about volunteering. The players met at the E-Football Training Center at 9 a.m. March 16 to start the day with doughnuts, orange juice and muscles.

California state code will no longer call people "mentally retarded" or refer to "mental retardation" once a new law Gov. Jerry Brown signed Saturday goes into effect. Those terms will be replaced with references to "intellectual disability. " Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) authored AB 2370, known as the Shriver R-Word Act. It was named after Dr. Timothy Shriver, chairman and chief executive of the Special Olympics, according to a press release from Mansoor's office. It was intended to "recognize the Shriver family's longstanding commitment and hard-work with the intellectually disabled community.

A bill proposed by Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) that would change the term "mentally retarded" to "intellectually disabled" in state codes is headed to the governor's desk for approval. Assembly Bill 2370, or the "Shriver R-Word Act," would also change "mental retardation" to "intellectual disability. " The law is named on behalf of the Shriver political family, which has supported the intellectually disabled community for generations. The late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, President Kennedy's sister, founded the Special Olympics.

Newport's Bob Waltos of Northwestern Mutual/Waltos Group has been named "Outstanding Volunteer" by The Northwestern Mutual Foundation. The national community service honor comes with a $10,000 grant, which Waltos will donate to The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Southern California. Ed Zore , president and CEO of Northwestern Mutual, commented: "We recognize the importance of our representatives being involved in community service." Since the award program began in 1995, Northwestern Mutual has donated some $2 million to its representatives, benefiting more than 200 nonprofits nationwide.

Bob Johnson, who led the Mission Viejo High Diablos to an unbeaten season and a CIF Southern Section Division II title last fall, has been selected to coach the South in the Orange County All-Star Football Game, scheduled July 12 at Orange Coast College. It's the third tour as South Coach for Johnson, who guided the Rebels to a 21-7 victory in the 1988 summer showcase. He also directed the South in a 0-0 tie in 1983. Johnson's coaching resume includes CIF Southern Section championships at El Toro High in 1982 (Central Conference)

The focus will be on treats as local restaurant Skosh Monahan?s, 2000 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, hosts its second annual Challenge 4 Charity Halloween fundraiser at 9 p.m. Oct. 27. A contest featuring food and beverage prizes for ?best costume,? ?cutest couple? and ?scariest ghoul? will be part of the evening?s festivities. The event will benefit the MBA Challenge 4 Charity, a nonprofit organization composed of MBAs from nine West Coast business schools, including the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine.