Breakfast With Champions raises $70,000 in gross proceeds to support 2009 World Winter Games
By KELLY JACKSON<br><i>The Wood River Journal ~ Sun Valley</i>
&#8220Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.&#8221;
The Special Olympic athlete&#039;s motto rings utterly pure and true when spoken from the mouth of 34-year-old Kirk Grogan, an impressive athlete who holds numerous ribbons and medals from four years of participation in Special Olympics Idaho.
Grogan is a Global Messenger for Special Olympics and says the ability to compete helps him have the confidence and self-esteem he needs to get through life.
During the Breakfast With Champions fundraiser held at Sun Valley Inn Tuesday morning, Dec. 19, Grogan was one of many speakers to encourage funding support for the 2009 Special Olympics Winter Games in Boise, which he said will be used to provide housing and meals to the 3,000 athletes expected to compete, as well as their coaches.
It will also fund venues for the events, transportation to and from competitions, the victory dance held at the end of the event and so much more.
&#8220Needless to say, it is going to take much more money to fund the 2009 World Winter Olympic Games,&#8221; Grogan said.
Albeit true, well over 250 individuals turned out to support the upcoming games at the breakfast, providing donations at many funding levels. From the 20 Table Captains donating &#036;10,000 each, to donations from other attendants, the silent auction and centerpiece box items auction, the Breakfast With Champions was a huge success, raising over &#036;70,000 in gross proceeds, according to Rance Pugmire with Special Olympics 2009 World Winter Games.
While the figure is an extraordinary one, money was only one important thing the event raised. The enthusiasm generated from the numerous speakers and videos at the Breakfast With Champions was incredible and absolutely contagious.
Ryan Panitz of Special Olympics Idaho broke down significant numbers associated with Special Olympics for the crowd.
Idaho alone boasts nearly 2,000 Special Olympics athletes and 3,000 dedicated volunteers across the state. The 2009 World Winter Olympic Games will bring 10,000 people from over 100 countries to Boise, he added.
Panitz also explained how Boise was selected to host the 2009 event, which became official back in May. Spearheaded by Jim and Pirie Grossman, a team of more than 50 people came together in a three-month period to put together an approximately 250-page bid for Idaho to host the 2009 World Winter Olympic Games.
Of course, there is much to be done before 2009 rolls around.
&#8220We are somewhere in-between idea and reality,&#8221; Panitz said. &#8220I think we call it planning.&#8221;
Jim Grossman said they knew the state of Idaho had the heart and the passion to bring the Games to Boise. He said the event will change the world&#039;s perception of Idaho.
&#8220(It will provide) lasting images of our compassion and a celebration of the human spirit,&#8221; he said.
&#8220The Special Olympics is about us being all one team&#045;the human race,&#8221; Pirie Grossman added.
She said many athletes traveling to Idaho from other countries to compete in the Games will receive needed medical examinations, such as hearing and vision tests before the Games.
Olympic Gold Medalist Picabo Street spoke at the Breakfast With Champions as well.
Panitz introduced Street, saying, &#8220She has overcome obstacles like all of us have. She breaks her leg, tears up her knee and says&#045;&#8216;I&#039;m going to go back and ski again.&#039;&#8221;
Street said that while Idaho produces more Olympians per capita than any other state, hosting the Special Olympics will put forward another impressive image of Idaho. It will put Idaho on the world stage, she said.
&#8220When you get around the Special Olympics, there&#039;s a whole (different) slice of hero in there,&#8221; she said.
Keynote Speaker Dr. Robert Kustra, president of Boise State University, said the Olympics were an essential part of early Grecian education.
The Special Olympics, he said, brings perspective to all of us.
&#8220It makes us students to those Special Olympians from which we learn,&#8221; he added.
Barbara Wisenor, parent of an Idaho Special Olympian read a poem called &#8220From Holland&#8221; at the closing of the event.
The poem compared having a child born with mental disabilities to a sudden change in flight plans. She said having a baby is like planning a vacation trip to Italy, during which travelers learn some of the Italian language and look at travel guides to plan the voyage. Then, the time comes to pack bags and board a plane. Upon arrival, the travelers discover they have flown to Holland rather than Italy.
&#8220There&#039;s been a change in flight plans,&#8221; she read, adding that the flight has not landed somewhere undesirable, just different.
Gary Hunter, CEO for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games thanked major sponsors including, ConferenceDirect, Tamarack Ski Resort, Bank of America, Dr. Aaron Blaser, DDS, Peggy Grossman and PromoShop.
For more information regarding the 2009 World Winter Games, visit www.idso.org.