Berea’s Parson Named Special Olympics Kentucky 2015 Athlete of the Year

– Special to WEKY-AM 1340 –

Tommy Parson of Berea has been named the Special Olympics Kentucky 2015 Athlete of the Year. The award was presented in Louisville on Saturday, January 16, at the Special Olympics Kentucky State Leadership Conference. The award recognizes an athlete who exemplifies the Spirit of Special Olympics by demonstrating skill, positive sportsmanship and courage.

 Parson, 29, has been a Special Olympics athlete for 15 years. He has competed in bowling, basketball, track and field and softball.

 Parson returned to competition in 2015 after a foot injury sidelined him for nearly a year. Madison County Special Olympics local coordinator Eden Fisher, who nominated Parson, recounted his return in her nomination form:

“He was a little apprehensive about his ability to run the dash and compete with the other athletes,” Fisher said. “Then the morning of the state games, while he was stretching and warming up, I heard him tell his dad — coach Lloyd — that he was ready to go and that he was going to be brave and do this for him and his team. He competed fearlessly and triumphed. He came in second and proudly displayed his silver metal for the rest of the day.

 “Tommy can be described with one word and that is ‘Fierce.’x” Fisher continued. “He is a natural leader who always encourages his fellow Special Olympians to be the best they can be, not only during competitions, but practices as well. “In Tommy’s own words ‘Special Olympics is my life.’x”

 In addition to the Athlete of the Year Award, Special Olympics Kentucky also named its 2015 Coach of the Year Award at the same event. That honor went to Louisville coach Janet Ballinger. Ballinger has served as a Special Olympics coach for more than 45 years, most recently with the Binet School program. She has coached nearly every sport that Special Olympics Kentucky offers. She was a part of the coaching staff for the Kentucky delegation that participated in the 1987 World Summer Games.

Special Olympics is the world’s largest program of sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Participation in competitive events is open to all individuals eight years of age or older. Training and competition in local, area, state, and national programs is offered year-round in Kentucky in 16 sports. In addition to its traditional sports competitions, Special Olympics also offers early childhood programming through the Young Athletes Program and medical screenings though the Healthy Athletes Initiative. Special Olympics Kentucky has been changing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in Kentucky for 46 years.