Three Special Olympics athletes and three of their coaches presented to the public Monday at the Callaway County Public Library as part of the One READ program.
The book chosen for One READ this year was "The Boys in the Boat", an "uplifting, and fast-paced Cinderella story," according to the One READ website. Monday night, the athletes and coaches related their experiences with the Special Olympics to the underdog story of "The Boys in the Boat".
Three Special Olympics athletes: Joey Garrard, Tina Jones and Eric Crosby and their coaches: Head coach Ken Petterson, assistant coach Aiden Petterson and assistant coach Dontre Jenkins shared their involvement throughout the years in participating and coaching.
Joey Garrard, a 40-year-old athlete, has been competing in the Special Olympics since he was 8 years old in a variety of sports including but not limited to: swimming, volleyball, bowling, basketball, track and field and golf. He has also been a Global Messenger for the organization, traveling to different areas to give speeches and presentations about his role in the Special Olympics. He has won more than 200 medals in his many years of competing, and he says that his favorite sport to participate in would be swimming.
Tina Jones, a 33-year-old athlete, has been competing since she was 8 years old as well. Like Garrard, she has won many medals and participated in many sports. She has also been a Global Messenger and she is an ambassador for the U.S. and national games. Jones competed as an ambassador for the world games in 1991 in St. Paul, Minn in gymnastics where she won a gold and silver medal and a fourth place ribbon for her triumphs. She was also named Miss Special Olympics Missouri Basketball in 2004.
The final athlete at the event was Eric Crosby, an 18-year-old athlete, who participates in many sports including bowling, basketball and track. He also enjoys competing in a monthly horse show for the Callaway Rough Riders.
The head basketball coach Ken Petterson and his son, assistant coach Aiden Petterson, help with Special Olympics as well. Ken Petterson, who has been involved in some way with the organization since 1998, has been volunteer coaching the five-on-five basketball team for eight years. He said he hopes to grow the program in Fulton for Special Olympics.
"(We're) breaking down stereotypes as they do in "The Boys in the Boat," Petterson said.
He said that with the help of his son, Aiden, and the other assistant coach, Dontre Jenkins, he hopes to take the team as far as they are able to compete this season.
Aiden Petterson, 12, has been helping his father coach in the way of aiding in drills, stretching, and warm-ups at almost every practice. He is also involved with the Youth Activation Council, a part of the Special Olympics that helps plan and raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics. Aiden is also part of a unified team, partnering with Crosby in bowling.
Dontre Jenkins, a fifth-year senior from William Woods University and former guard for the WWU men's basketball team had volunteered to help with the Special Olympics a year ago and made the commitment to help coach the Fulton Special Olympics basketball team. After graduating, Jenkins says he wants to be a coach.
"It would be a great way to get my players involved," Jenkins said when asked how volunteering for the Special Olympics is helping prepare him for his future career.
Coach Ken Petterson says he is "looking forward to the season," to teaching new things and learning new things.
"For somebody who doesn't know much about Special Olympics, you see how vast it really is, and it's a great thing to be involved in," Petterson said.