“It’s always a great time,” said Michael Paglicci, Director of Programming for Special Olympics New York, Western Region. “… It’s awesome for us to be down here to check this out and watch really incredible volunteers and schools put together an event that’s what the community wants.”

After a brief interruption following more than 30 years of celebrating Special Olympics in Chautauqua County with a major event, Wednesday’s event was the third annual competition for athletes to all come together back at SUNY Fredonia.

“It was sad during COVID when we were all split up. It’s nice to have everybody back together again. I like working with districts to get all the kids together,” said Samantha Gilmore, Northern Chautauqua County Special Olympics Director. Gilmore is in her third year as the coordinator of the event.

A total of 384 students participated in the event. They were aided by staff members and student volunteers from local districts, as well as students from SUNY Fredonia.

A total of 384 students participated in Wednesday’s Special Olympics event at SUNY Fredonia.

Of the many schools represented, the Dunkirk City School District and the LoGuidice Educational Center (BOCES) were the most heavily represented. Also in attendance were participants from Brocton, Forestville, Fredonia, Gowanda, Pine Valley, Silver Creek, and students from North Collins BOCES. The LoGuidice Center led the way with the planning of the event, in coordination with SUNY Fredonia and Special Olympics.

“I just like to see the kids happy. It makes my heart happy to see them having a good time. It’s worth all the stress and chaos,” said Gilmore.

Gilmore’s passion for Special Olympics began as a volunteer when she was a senior in high school. It was that experience that sparked her interest in Special Education, which has led to her job now at the LoGuidice Center.

“I’m very thankful for everybody that comes to help and volunteers. I couldn’t do it by myself,” Gilmore said.

Paglicci added, “As hands-on as we are with a lot of our events, we have really great leadership at this one. Sam Gilmore and her crew really put on an awesome event for this area and for these athletes and students.”

For the second time in three years, weather forced all events indoors. Last year’s bright and sunny day was bookended by Wednesday’s consistent rain and 2023’s air quality concerns as a result of Canadian wildfires.

Wednesday morning, after several speakers addressed the crowd and Dunkirk students sung the National Anthem, the games began. Inside Steele Hall, races and jumps were hosted for all ages and abilities. Dods Hall featured a softball toss for both boys and girls. There were also activities in the hallways, along with a long line for lunch provided at the event.

The day began with the Law Enforcement Torch Run, culminating at Steele Hall shortly before 10 a.m., despite rain falling throughout the runners’ trek to the campus. Since the Law Enforcement Torch Run began in 1986, more than $14 million has been raised for Special Olympics of New York.

Among those participating in the Torch Run were Dunkirk Police Officer and Varsity Football Coach Edwin Gomez; Dunkirk Football and Baseball standout Paul Trippy III, and Zach Zentz, last year’s Class President. While Zentz participated in the Torch Run in each of the previous two years, Gomez and Trippy were new to the event this year.

“It was actually really cool running for a cause. It was a long distance, so being together through it all was great,” Trippy said. “Knowing it was for Special Olympics, raising money to give them an opportunity to go out and succeed and show off their talents, I think that’s really important.”

Following his graduation last year, Zentz moved on to play baseball at SUNY Fredonia while studying Criminal Justice. At last year’s Special Olympics event, Zentz spoke of his desire to take what he learned from Unified Sports at Dunkirk and pass it on to his fellow classmates at SUNY Fredonia.

Since then, Zentz was part of a group of students who formed a Special Olympics Club at SUNY Fredonia, aimed at promoting inclusion and engagement between the college and local schools through Unified Sports and activities.

“We’re on the lower scale part of this,” Zentz said of his group’s involvement with Wednesday’s event. As a student of SUNY Fredonia and a former volunteer and Unified partner while at Dunkirk, Zentz has a unique perspective to Wednesday’s festivities.

“It is awesome. I see this as a culture change,” Zentz said. “… It’s really cool just to give people opportunities.”

Zentz formed the Special Olympics Club with fellow student athlete Hannah Retzer, who drove from her home in the Buffalo area to attend the event on Wednesday.

“Fredonia is my home away from home. Having this second form of community is really awesome,” Retzer said. “All of these people coming to campus shows how much events like this mean to our community. I’m really looking forward to bringing more events like this to campus throughout the years.”

Retzer said Wednesday’s event was even better than she expected, from the amount of athletes and schools represented to the impact that was clearly visible from the start of the day.

“You can just see everyone’s face light up – parents, kids, whoever it is. It’s just awesome,” Retzer said.

“This just shows how important this stuff is,” said SUNY Fredonia student Makayla Stainbrook. “It just brings me so much joy to see everyone here.”

All throughout the athletics halls of SUNY Fredonia on Wednesday, Special Olympics athletes got the attention they deserved. While many of them left with medals, everyone left with memories that will last for years to come.

“It’s great to have everybody out here. It gives all the athletes a great feeling and an importance,” Trippy said on Wednesday. “It’s a really powerful message that’s being sent today.”