Group of 64 participants for Disneyland Trip

A group of 64 individuals with developmental disabilities from the City of Mesa and City of Chandler combined took a bus ride to California to visit Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The participants were accompanied by 12 staff from the City of Mesa and Chandler and one Registered Nurse. The large group left the Chandler Senior Center on Thursday, October 7th at 8:00am and arrived to Anaheim, California around 3:30pm to check-in to the Homewood Suites Hotel.

On Friday morning, the group of 77 people boarded the two charter buses and enjoyed a fun day at the California Adventure Park. Saturday was a fun-filled day at Disneyland Park where the participants were able to have a full-day of riding rides, entertainment, getting Disneyland character autographs and enjoying the many options for good amusement park food.
Everyone boarded the buses at 11:00pm on Saturday night and headed back to Arizona.

Everyone returned safe to Chandler on Sunday morning but all were very tired from such a fun weekend! Everyone had a great time and looks forward to seeing Mickey and Minnie again next October! Thank you to the wonderful staff that made for a safe trip for all of the participants and to Jacquie and Collette for planning the 2010 California Adventure Trip.

Special Olympics Triathalon

Mesa individuals participate in the 3rd Annual Red Rock Sprint & Unified Triathalon in Phoenix on Saturday, September 11th. Mesa athletes, Michael Bixler and Esther Wright along with unified partner Cindy Hunt joined the hundreds of individuals that participated in the triathalon to raise funding for Special Olympics Arizona. Congratulations to all of the Special Olympic athletes and unified partners that supported the 3rd annual event!

2010 SOEV Bocce Tournament

On Saturday, September 25th the Special Olympics East Valley Bocce Tournament was held at Gene Autry Baseball Complex in East Mesa. Courts were set up on the Arizona Rattler's practice field. Home Depot loaned Mesa sixty-six 4x6x10 foot timbers that were utilized to make the bocce courts for the competition. Fourty athletes competed in the doubles competition from Mesa, Gilbert, Maricopa and the Cyclones from North Scottsdale. Team Mesa doubles finished the tournament with 4 Gold medals, 5 Silver medals and 1 Bronze medal. The young men from Canyon State Academy assisted the event by officiating, keeping score and taking down equipment. Great job TEAM MESA!!!

2010 SOEV Aquatics Competition

Due to extreme temperatures and a holiday weekend, the SOEV Aquatics meet was moved to Monday and Tuesday, September 20th and 21st, 2o10 at Kino Aquatic Center. The teams checked in at 5:00pm and the competition started at 6:00pm. Once the sun set it was a very pleasant evening for a swim meet.

Monday evening included 149 junior and senior athletes representing Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Casa Grande, Scottsdale and Payson. One Tuesday evening, 111 adult athletes from Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale and Payson competed.

We would like to thank the volunteers from Red Mountain's Club Diversity, the East Valley Boys Service Club, Mountain View's Boys & Girls Swim teams and Mesa High School's Swim team for helping make the meet run smooth.

Congratulations to all the athletes that competed in the 2010 SOEV Aquatics Competition.

17th Annual Fall Fundraiser

On Saturday, October 2nd, AzDS hosted the 17th Annual Fall Fundraiser at the Mesa Convention Center. The organization was very pleased to have 365 guests to bid on the 155 silent auction items and 10 live auction items. Kevin Hunt of 12 News entertained the crowd as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Special thank you to auctioneer Greg Gerber, DJ Larry Indelicato, vocalist Laura Danielle Walsh and Monsignor Nestor for their support at the 2010 event. Congratulations to the organizing committee for a successful 17th year - especially Linda Hughes and Deb Krecek who put in countless hours of volunteer work towards the event.

Annually at the Fall Fundraiser, Mesa presents the Paula Rudow Award to the most deserving Special Olympics athlete. The 2010 Paula Rudow Award recipient is Sara Hughes. Sara began participating in Special Olympics at the age of eight years old. Through her many years of participating in Special Olympics, Sara has competed in gymnastics, bowling, cheerleading, swimming, golf and ice skating. Participation in these programs has taught her responsibility, dedication, commitment, as well as the importance of staying active. Sara can always be seen at practices or competitions with a smile on her face and a kind word for her teammates. She has made long lasting friendships while being involved in these programs. Sara’s sweet personality and positive zest for life made her the perfect recipient for the Paula Rudow award.

Thank you to the AzDS Year-Round Sponsors for their generous support

Champion=$10,000 and above
Southwest Airlines

Challenger=$5,000
Desert Club Foundation
Ford Motor Company
Mesa Hohokam Foundation
Subway Kids & Sports Arizona
Vistal Golf Club – Duck & Run Tournament
W. Bradford Perkinson

Competitor=$2,500
Delta Diversified
The Hartford
Greg and Ronda Marsh
SW Services, LLC / SPAC Enterprises, Inc.
Sundt Foundation
WD Manor Mechanical Contractors, Inc.

Charger=$1,000
Boeing ECF
Knights of Columbus
Precision Direct, Inc.
Southwest Asphalt
State Farm Companies Foundation
United Truck & Equipment

Thank you to the Table Sponsors at the 17th Annual Fall Fundraiser

SILVER=$1,000
John and Sue Alig
Arizona Bank & Trust
Dr. James Badge
Boeing Company
Cawood and Gibson, PLLC
Council Member Dina Higgins
Disabled Sports USA / Flancer’s
D.L. Withers Construction
Chris and Sue Hite
John and Linda Hughes
Kohler Company
Lerner & Rowe Phoenix Personal Injury Attorneys
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Ted and Lynn Moll
Gloria Rusk & Scott Morrison
MSA Engineering Consultants
Dave and Pam Neumeyer
Progressive Roofing
R.C. Lurie Co, Inc.
Schuff Steel Management Co. SW
Taylor’s Flooring
The Mahoney Group
Unite 2 Fight Paralysis

GOLD = $2,000
Simpson Strong-Tie
Valley Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
WD Manor Mechanical Contractors, Inc.

PLATINUM=$3,000
JFK Electrical Contracting Enterprises Inc.
Greg and Ronda Marsh
SW Services, LLC / SPAC Enterprises, Inc.

Congratulations to Intern Rachel Kupitz

Arizona Disabled Sports was very lucky to have a full-time intern over the summer named Rachel Kupitz. Rachel began her internship in June and finished in mid-September. During her 15 weeks with the organization, Rachel was able to participate in the assessment and evaluation process for each program, fundraising and grant-writing processes, budgeting, planning special events and managing volunteers. Rachel has recently passed her CTRS (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist) exam and will be working hard in the field to support people with disabilities. Best of luck to Rachel! Congratulations on passing the CTRS exam!