#ImAGameChanger - Jessica Minard

January 3, 2018 Rachel McQuiston

BY: USA GAMES CORRESPONDENT, MIKE GASTINEAU

David Fine’s son Kenny was diagnosed with autism before his second birthday. Among the many thoughts and emotions Fine had to sort through after the diagnosis was how to explain the situation to Kenny’s cousins.

A few days later he was talking to his niece Jessie about Kenny when she interjected a point.

“Mom told me he needs help to learn how to play,” then six-year-old Jessie said to her uncle. Kenny was non-verbal so the act of showing him how to play was not necessarily going to be easy. Jessie was undaunted.

“I want to help him,” she said. “I want to show him how to play.”

And on the simple premise of helping Kenny learn how to play, a lifelong love for her cousin (as well as a passion for helping people with intellectual disabilities) started for Jessica Lynn Minard. She’s now 27 and she was nominated by Fine to be recognized by the 2018 USA Games #ImAGameChanger campaign.

#ImAGameChanger - Audrey Verret

December 27, 2017 Rachel McQuiston

BY: USA GAMES CORRESPONDENT, MIKE GASTINEAU

Ask anyone who works within Special Olympics and they’ll tell you that a key element to continued success within the organization is the work done by volunteers. Every day, in cities and towns throughout America, Special Olympics employees count on people who are willing to do the work required to keep things moving forward without asking for a paycheck.

“Our lifeblood is all of our volunteers,” said St. Louis metro area program director Jocelyn Diehl. “But when you get someone who is interested in helping at the next level, that’s going above and beyond.”

Diehl is speaking of Audrey Verret who she nominated for recognition by the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in our #ImAGameChanger campaign.

#ImAGameChanger - Lauren Petrick

December 20, 2017 Rachel McQuiston

BY: USA GAMES CORRESPONDENT, MIKE GASTINEAU

Lauren Petrick was settling into what she thought her career was going to be.

The Florida native had been a competitive gymnast in her youth and by high school had decided she wanted to be a coach. While attending the University of Florida she coached a rec class and upon graduation, she turned her passion into a living by landing a job at a South Florida gymnastics facility.

“She was training high-level teams and taking them to national competitions,” said her cousin Morgan Petrick. “That’s what she was going to do with her life.”

Easy, right?

Then, one night, her boss approached his employees with a request. He had a friend whose son William had an intellectual disability. His friend thought William could benefit from learning gymnastics and he needed someone from the facility to agree to work with him.

#ImAGameChanger - Pastor Peggy Roy

December 13, 2017 Rachel McQuiston

by: usa games correspondent, Mike Gastineau

When she moved to Florida, joining a church was the last thing on Susan Carleton’s mind.

She had two kids with autism. They had been born in Ireland where religion obviously is a big and daily life influence. The family eventually moved back to the USA to West Virginia, but Carleton didn’t find enough programs there to help her and her kids. So she relocated again to Auburndale, Florida and moved in with her friend Liz.

Liz tried to convince them to join her church but Carleton demurred. After living in Ireland and then making two moves, she didn’t think church should be a big priority right away. She turned down her friend’s invitation with an oft-used excuse.

“If God wants me to join a church,” Carleton said, “he’ll send me a sign.”

Three days later the two friends were having a yard sale to get rid of some extra things they didn’t need. A man browsing the sale found out that Carleton had just arrived in Auburndale.