February 9, 2024 • 26 mins
Clint Girlie visits with Haley Blevins, Development Director for Special Olympics in Southwest Missouri to discuss the upcoming Polar Plunge Fundraising event. They are joined by Sgt Kaylee Friend who heads up Special Olympics support from the Springfield Police department.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Well, hello, and welcome toa show that we call iHeart the O's
Arts. This is a half hourlong show that airs every Sunday across our
iHeart Radio stations that focuses in onthe community group or effort of an issue,
really anything that is benefiting or affectingour community and what we can learn
about it and maybe what we cando about it. So I'm excited today
for myself, Clint Gurley, andthe rest of our iHeart Radio staff to
(00:21):
talk with our friends from Special Olympicsand the Springfield Police Department that we just
had in here a couple of daysago, not you specifically, Kayley,
but a couple of you. We'rein here talking about recruitment, and we
did a whole show on that,so that's pretty cool. But today it's
all about Special Olympics. So I'mexcited to welcome in Hayley Blevins. She
is the development director for Southwest Missouri'sSpecial Olympics, as well as Sergeant Kayley
(00:45):
friend, who besides being on acalendar for the Springfield Police Department, that's
true, right, you're on it. I am mad. So there you
go. So is it a birthday? Did you get to pick the month
you were on. I didn't getto pick the month, but it does
so happen to fall on my birthday. Oh crazy, that's awesome bad.
Well not only that, but butKaylee's also I can't not say it.
(01:10):
She's like a Hall of Famer forevangel University as a softball player. And
uh, you know you're on thepolice I guess too. That's cool.
Uh what do you so? So, Sergeant Kayley friend? Anyways joining us
and I'm glad to have you.What do you do for the Springfield Police
Department besides just being you know,a sergeant there. Well, currently I
(01:30):
am as signed and supervised the ChildVictims Unit. Okay, awesome, very
cool. But when it pertains toyour relationship and Springfield Police Department's relationship with
our friends at Special Olympics here,you also kind of head up their efforts
for that too, don't you correct? I am the department coordinator for the
Special Olympics and Enforcement TORTUREND awesome.Awesome, And the reason we're talking about
(01:55):
Special Olympics specifically this month was notchosen arbitrarily like your May calendar up here.
But the reason we're talking about SpecialOlympics right now is because we're a
couple weeks away from one of theirbiggest, most fun and craziest fundraisers,
the Polar Plunge. Hayley, you'rerunning special Olympics around here. Can you
give us a little bit of insightinto what the polar Plunge is all about?
(02:16):
When it is all the stuff?Yeah? Absolutely so. Our Springfield
Polar Plunge is Saturday, March second, out at the Ski Sheck. Registration
will start at ten thirty that morning. Plunges will begin at noon, and
we ask that everybody register online atsomo dot org slash Plunge, and then
(02:40):
we ask that each plunger raises aminimum of seventy five dollars to help all
of our efforts in the Southwest areato support all of our athletes and all
of our sporting programs. And thenonce we get all of our plunges there,
we get all of them lined upand we start taking the plunge into
(03:00):
super cold water. But it's alot of fun and all of ours all
last. We have a ton ofre turners over the year. We have
several school teams and community teams thatcome out and plunge with us. They
battle to see who can have thebest costumes to match the theme. This
(03:22):
year's theme is Hawaiian. We alsohave certain teams that try to raise the
most money and get awards for thatas well. It's just a lot of
fun. All of our athletes inthe area try to come out if they
can, and they love having theplungers out there. They get a kick
out of seeing everybody take the plungeand support their their sports and support them
(03:46):
personally. So it's really awesome.It's a fun time. We have people
that don't want to plunge and theyjust come out and hang out with us
too. Yeah, that's awesome,man, And these are a really good
time. Since my second year,I think in radio, which was a
long long time ago, in someway, shape, form or fashion,
(04:06):
I've done something with the Polar Plunge, I think every year since then,
so this would be like fifteen orsixteen years in a row. It's insanity
and every year it never ceases tobe a really good time. Man.
I should also mention that Hayley istraveling right now, so as you're talking
to us, a couple of timesthe audio is cut out, but we
(04:28):
will get to the bottom of everything. We'll recap everything as the show goes
on today and then of course allthe information is available at SOMO dot org.
Kaylee Friend, Sergeant Kayley Friend fromthe police Department. I see you
out there all the time at thePolar Plunge. Can you explain just a
little bit about like why that is? Like why is law enforcement not only
(04:49):
such a presence at the Polar Plunge, but also just with Special Olympics here
in Southwest Missouri in general. Well, we are the one enfortment law enforcement
torch run portion of the Special Olympics. So this is one of our biggest
fundraisers and one of our biggest waysto give back to the athletes. So
(05:11):
that's one of the reasons why I'mout there is it's it's a great opportunity
for fundraising. It's fun. Yeah, I've been doing it. Let's see
since on t twenty one was actuallythe first time that I did the Polar
Plunge. Before that, I Iwas kind of one of those bisses that's
like, I'll do the run,but cold water is not really for me.
(05:35):
And then I got I got suckedin, and now it's every year
and then even two years ago,I did the super Plunge, which was
twenty four plunges in twenty four hours, and I'm going to do a repeat
of that this year and do thesuper Plunge. Oh man. So it's
it's a it's another way of raisingraising funds for Special Olympics and it's our
(05:58):
biggest fun fundring statewide. Yeah,you mentioned the Torch Run. I know
that that is a symbolic ceremonial andrevolves around Special Olympics and what they do,
not just here locally, but statewide. Could you expand a little bit
on that, like what you meanby torch Run. So, the Torch
Run was actually founded by four membersof an agency in Kansas, and it's
(06:24):
actually worldwide that it's law enforcements Iguess contribution of protecting the flame for the
Special Olympics. So the Olympic TorchSo there was four runners back in Kansas
that initiated that movement and were guardiansof the flame as law enforcement. So
(06:48):
it's not just statewide, it's actuallyworldwide that our entity of the Special Olympics
as law enforcement is the Torch Runand being guardians of the point. That's
Sergeant Kayley Friend from the Springfield PoliceDepartment. Hailey Blevin's also joining. She's
the development director for Southwest Missouri SpecialOlympics. Here. Can you just briefly,
(07:11):
Haley, just talk a little bitabout what that relationship is like between
Special Olympics and law enforcement and whatit means for you guys. Sure so
to speak as to what Kaylee wasjust explaining with how the law enforcement torch
one was started and everything. It'sa huge community awareness piece for us.
(07:32):
So all of our officers getting togethercarrying the torch and protecting the flame,
being the guardians of the flame.It means it's huge symbolic movement for us,
but it also means that our athletesare you know, being protected by
our law enforcement. They're being includedin everything that our community is doing.
(07:58):
They're being wrecked regnized by other communitymembers. You know, we're carrying the
torch down the road and people stopand ask, hey, what are what
are they doing this for? Andso we get to educate our community on
what Special Olympics is doing, youknow, here locally, but also statewide
nationally, and so it becomes areally good opportunity for us to spread spread
(08:20):
awareness about Special Olympics. And whatour athletes are able to do, and
all of the amazing things that we'reable to do to support those athletes on
and off the fields. Awesome,awesome. So I'm talking about a fundraiser
here with the Polar Plunge. Iknow a lot of folks may not be
aware of the full scope of whatSpecial Olympics is here in Southwest Missouri and
(08:45):
what these funds go to support.I know this is a big ask,
Hayley, but can you just kindof give an overview of what all Special
Olympics does here in Southwest Missouri.Yes, absolutely so. We have in
southwest Missouri, we actually cover abouttwenty four different counties, so we have
(09:07):
athletes from Nevada and joplinin all theway over to West Plains and Howe County
and everywhere in between. So wehave a good large area of athletes that
we're trying to support. We havethirteen sports currently that we provide statewide.
Those all are all offered here inSouthwest Missouri. We have. Additionally,
(09:35):
we have four emerging sports that weare working on getting out and going,
including cheer and dance. Those arenewer. Pickaball and soccer are also emerging
sports that are becoming more popular andwe're getting more teams for We are actually
working currently on hosting some clinics forpickaball and soccer and dance so that we
(09:58):
can encouragge athletes to try some differentsports that they haven't been able to access
before through special Olympics. So that'sreally exciting. That's a huge push of
why we're why we're raising funds thisyear in particular. Overall though we have
we have so many athletes in ourarea, We serviced right around two thousand
(10:20):
athletes currently and we're only we're stillonly hitting about four percent of what we
could be servicing in our area.So you know, we're we're really working
on and being much more inclusive,on getting into schools and getting into different
community groups and just different efforts suchas downstream groups of the Ozarks or Abilities
(10:43):
First that are in the area,working with those types of organizations so that
we can also help help who they'reserving and they can help who we're serving.
So it becomes a really good opportunityfor us to raise funds and be
able to support all of the athletesthat were able to reach and these sporting
(11:07):
events cost very little to not almostnothing for all of our athletes that participate.
So it's a huge accomplishment for usto be able to offer all of
these sports at no cost. Andthat's what all of these funds go towards.
Facility rentals, equipment rentals, youknow, helping buy uniforms for different
(11:31):
teams, and everything that you canthink of that would go into sports,
our referees and all of that.So it becomes really important and very costly
once we start adding in new sportsand everything. So every year, I'm
amazed, since I've started a fewyears ago, that the community just seems
(11:54):
to buy in a little bit moreevery year, and it's starting to grow
a lot down here in southwest Missouri. So yeah, every little bit helps
in the law enforcement do a greatjob of promoting Special Olympics and showing the
support to our athletes. So thismay be a bit more philosophical than we
(12:15):
need to get, but you know, we've got to fill a half hour,
so let's do it. You mentioned, though, a couple of really
cool organizations here in town that supportthe same community that Special Olympics does.
As you mentioned abilities first, they'reall, you know, all added a
couple others too with our friends overit, like DCO for example, Arc
of the Ozarks. Those to me, you know, those organizations do a
(12:41):
lot with this community as far aslife skills, practical life skills, things
that on an everyday basis, thingsyou'll need to know in order to move
Maybe you need to learn or havesupport in learning a little bit extra in
order to just be a part ofthe community. Why is and this could
just be your opinion, but whyis also being included in sporting events like
(13:05):
this important? Sure? So,we believe that sports brings people together in
a way that not many other thingscan. So the the purpose of belonging
somewhere. So, you know,you have your life skills, you have
all of these other things that allof these other amazing organizations are able to
provide. But then where do yougo with them? What are you able
(13:28):
to accomplish? You know, someof our some of our athletes are able
to hold jobs, others are not. Some of our athletes are able to,
you know, go out in thecommunity and be advocates for themselves and
their peers. Some of them don'thave that capability. So we provide an
opportunity for everybody to be included,and we have an opportunity for these athletes
(13:52):
that are with Special Olympics to feellike doesn't matter what their ability is,
doesn't matter the level of their ability, They're able to participate in these sports
just like everybody else does. Andso it provides a sense of belonging to
It provides a sense of unity andinclusion within our community. And a part
(14:13):
of that is that we also havewhat we call our unified partners. So
all of our athletes in Special Olympicshave intellectual disabilities, So those without intellectual
disabilities are able to still participate inour sports by becoming a unified partner and
playing alongside all of these athletes thatdo have intellectual disabilities, and it really
(14:35):
just becomes a community thing and itallows them to feel like they are involved
in everything that their community is involvedin. You know, there's sports teams
all over the place. They don'tnecessarily have the same capabilities as others,
and this allows them to play atthe same level as everybody else, and
(14:56):
it just kind of really, Idon't know, you grow friends side of
it. Even as a staff memberand a volunteer. You come out of
there every single time and you haveten new best friends. I mean,
it's just it creates this just asense of community and belonging that you can't
get out of just any other projector any other event that you go to.
(15:20):
It's I mean, I really encouragepeople to come out and experience it
for themselves, because until you attenda Special Olympics event, you just you
don't get it. And then onceyou come, I promise you'll never forget
about coming back. You'll always wantto come back. I want to take
that sentiment and bring back in SergeantKaylee friend from the Springfield Police Department here
(15:45):
who's just waiting very patiently, andI appreciate it. Kaylee, because she
is the Special Olympics Liaison is atthe right title I'll give you between the
Police Department and Special Olympics here insouthwest Missouri. She's also participating for the
second year in a row in thesuperlun portion of the Polar Plunge, which
is coming up in early March herein Springfield. But just as let's say,
as a human right, not acop, not a not a plunger,
(16:07):
just a person who's now been aroundSpecial Olympics in a in a deeper
capacity. The last few years.What has been your experience, how has
your life been affected by being apart of Special Olympics here in Southwest Missouri.
Oh man, I've been impacted sogreatly. I Actually my first experience
(16:30):
with the Special Olympics was when theyhad the State Games here in Springfield,
and this would have been back inlet's say twenty ten or twenty eleven.
That was that was my first experienceas well. So that that that's funny.
Yeah. So and they do theopening ceremony where all of the athletes,
it's a parade of athletes and they'recoming into the stadium and just a
(16:55):
joy and the excitement that all ofthe athletes bring. I mean, you
can't as a human, you can'tdeny their excitement and their joy and just
seeing that how it makes you feellike, Okay, this is a good
cause. This is exciting for metoo. You can't. They just exude
(17:18):
all those things onto everybody around them. So that was some of my first
experiences. And then they had theState Games, who probably back in fourteen
or fifteen back here, same kindof thing. And then I've gotten to
be involved with some of the bowlingthat they've had here and putting metals around
the next of the athletes, andlike they're excited to see you, but
(17:42):
honestly just so much more exciting tosee them and their accomplishments. My first
experience is kind of similar to yoursin what we've took away from it.
And I know this show is morefor the guests than the host, but
I'm I'm gonna lay out my storytoo, because this is a personal cause
(18:03):
for me too, and if itresounds with somebody the same way that,
like, I heard your story,Kayley, and I was like, yeah,
that makes sense. I remember goingas the radio station capacity because we
had a full timer, you know, big time dude who had put together
a team to go donate some timeat the state games, and I was
sent out there to volunteer to justtake pictures of what was going on.
(18:29):
And I remember leaving there after witnessingwhat was happening at those games and less
about the competition, more about theemotions on display and how there was nothing
being held back, and at theend of each competition, each round of
something, the prevailing emotion was positiveand friendly, and even though there was
(18:57):
no holding back of either happiness inthe moment, anger, in the moment,
frustration, sadness, all of theseemotions that I have a very hard
time expressing because of how I wasbrought up, right, I just bury
them all deep down inside. Herethey were on full display for the world.
And then at the end when everyonehas come together, when the competition
(19:19):
portion is over and we're all justbeing humans again, the prevailing emotion on
display was positivity. And I justthought, boy, if we could just
bottle this, this idea that we'reallowed to be mad or upset or sad
or happy, joyous and show it, you know, not bury it all
(19:41):
deep down inside, but be ableto express these emotions in a place in
a way where it's productive for usas individuals, and then at the end
come together as a community, andthat one commonality that we have and get
to express and all experience is apositive one, like an amazing thing to
not just be an outsider looking in. But it made me want to be
(20:06):
a part of it as well,and so that's kind of where things took
off for me. And ever sincethen, it's been fun in one capacity
to the other to go out thereand help out. I've done everything from
hosting events like that opening ceremonies.I was asked to host a couple of
times. That was super duper funbeing somebody who helped on the field during
(20:26):
some games, helped coach during somegames, or just out there cheering along.
I mean, this is over afifteen year span, so it's hard
to remember all of them, butit's been a ton of fun. And
I'm excited because my kids are gettingto the age where they're old enough now
to start understanding what donating their timelooks like, you know, instead of
just like trudging through because it's somethingthat Dad brought me to. Now it's
(20:51):
I'm excited to be able to maybepush them a little bit more into that
world as well. No better place, by the way, to get involved
than the polar plunge because it's notand there's nothing else going on in early
March, you know what I mean. So let's recap what's coming up with
the polar plunge that is early March, and I'll throw it to Haley Blevins,
who's joining us, the development directorfrom Southwest Missouri's Special Olympics. Here
(21:14):
recap once again, polar plunge.It's coming up. What's happening, Yes,
Polar Plunge Saturday, March second,at the Ski Shack on South Campbell.
We will be there's beginning at tenthirty. Plunges will begin at noon
and we will we will be takingthe plunge with all of our plungers and
(21:38):
hopefully they'll bring in a whole bunchof awesome funds for us this year.
But we're more excited, I think, to see what kind of costumes come
out of it. Just to theHawaiian theme. It's always a great time
to see everybody out there, youknow, seeing everybody meet our athletes and
(21:59):
join in together, see people thatthey haven't seen since the last plunge.
It's always a great time. Awesome. And if somebody wants to get involved,
whether or not they want to jumpin the water or not, how
where's a good place for them toget that information? Is there a cutoff
date for when they need to beregistered if they do want to take the
plunge? Absolutely, so, there'snot a cut off date. You can
(22:21):
come up the day of the plungeand register. We ask that all plungers
pledge a minimum of seventy five dollars. We encourage you guys to sign up
ahead of time. We have anonline registration soom dot org slash Plunge and
you can get signed up for theSpringfield Plunge. And then after you sign
(22:48):
up, you can spread the word, get people to send funds for you,
and you can help raise a lotmore than just seventy five dollars by
sharing it on your social media pagesare with friends and family. Yeah,
you'd be amazed at how many peopleand this is just me talking to our
audience, how many people you aren'taware of looking at your social media that
(23:11):
will donate to a cause like thisfor the sheer outlandishness of the activity you're
involved in. You know, it'snot, hey, donate to my son's
baseball team, not saying that isn'ta worthy cause, but it's Hey,
I'm going to go jump in thisfreezing cold lake out behind the ski shack
on March second, and it's allto raise money for special Olympics. And
if I think the you know whatpeople see as well, if they're willing
(23:33):
to do that nutso thing, Ican give five, ten, fifteen bucks
whatever you know it is, soI would, yeah, absolutely encourage folks.
It's a pretty easy one to raisemoney for. And you guys give
them all the tools there at Somodot org. I'm going to give this
one, this last question to aSergeant Kayley Friend from the Springfield Police Department
because she's an influential figure. Ifwe've got people listening who are thinking about
(23:59):
taking the polar place this year,maybe for the first time, what would
you say to them? Now isan experienced plunger and special Olympics advocate,
how would you give me your elevatorpitch to that person? Oh? Man,
I mean, it's a fun atmospherefirst off, and it's gonna provide
you with memories with your family,with your friends that are going to last
(24:21):
forever. So these times that youknow in our world that might be just
a little bit cringey right now,this is this is a light, fun
event that you know helps you forgeteverything else that's going on. So it's
going to be just a fun environment. Go plunge for a good cause.
(24:44):
Share this with your friends and family. You're not going to regret it.
Awesome, Very cool again, sO m O dot org. So Somo
dot org for all the information notjust about the Polar Plunge coming up March
second, but also special Olympics herein Southwest Missouri in general. Is good
to catch up with Haley Blevins,who's the development director. How's that Williams
character working out for you? Bythe way, Oh, he's he's pretty
(25:07):
great. We love him a lotdown here. Don't please, first of
all, don't go that over thetop when we're talking about Jesse. Okay,
like Jesse Williams, he's okay,let's just say he's okay, all
right, but I'm glad to hearhe's working out for it. And then
and so thank you so much forbeing a part of this, Hailey,
is what I meant to say,not just you know, make fun of
Jesse and then Sergeant Kayley, friend, it was good to talk to you.
(25:30):
I get to see you like oncea year, sometimes twice a year.
If I make fun of you guysduring your softball game between the fire
department and police department, they literallyhired me to come announce and make fun
of them while they played. Thatwas a good time. It is true.
This is true. Fire Department,I should just add didn't stand a
(25:52):
chance it was. It was.It was a slaughter. So well done
to the police department on that.But thank you for joining us. Kaylee
really appreciate that. Again. Ifyou're just out getting here, make sure
to join Special Olympics in their Polarplunge coming up marks the second at the
Ski Shack on South Campbell. Allthe information is available at SOMO dot org.
(26:12):
If you are just catching the restof the show and you want to
make sure you hear the entire thing, learn a little bit more about Special
Olympics, or want to listen toany other episode of the show where we
talk to other organizations or groups orindividuals concerning some issues in our community.
You can find this show, alongwith all the others, on our iHeartRadio
app or anywhere really you get yourpodcasts, just search iHeart the Ozarks.
(26:33):
It is there for you, Formyself, Clint Gurley, the rest of
our staff here at iHeartRadio, thanksfor listening. Have a great rest of
your day.
Well, hello, and welcome toa show that we call iHeart the O's
Arts. This is a half hourlong show that airs every Sunday across our
iHeart Radio stations that focuses in onthe community group or effort of an issue,
really anything that is benefiting or affectingour community and what we can learn
about it and maybe what we cando about it. So I'm excited today
for myself, Clint Gurley, andthe rest of our iHeart Radio staff to
(00:21):
talk with our friends from Special Olympicsand the Springfield Police Department that we just
had in here a couple of daysago, not you specifically, Kayley,
but a couple of you. We'rein here talking about recruitment, and we
did a whole show on that,so that's pretty cool. But today it's
all about Special Olympics. So I'mexcited to welcome in Hayley Blevins. She
is the development director for Southwest Missouri'sSpecial Olympics, as well as Sergeant Kayley
(00:45):
friend, who besides being on acalendar for the Springfield Police Department, that's
true, right, you're on it. I am mad. So there you
go. So is it a birthday? Did you get to pick the month
you were on. I didn't getto pick the month, but it does
so happen to fall on my birthday. Oh crazy, that's awesome bad.
Well not only that, but butKaylee's also I can't not say it.
(01:10):
She's like a Hall of Famer forevangel University as a softball player. And
uh, you know you're on thepolice I guess too. That's cool.
Uh what do you so? So, Sergeant Kayley friend? Anyways joining us
and I'm glad to have you.What do you do for the Springfield Police
Department besides just being you know,a sergeant there. Well, currently I
(01:30):
am as signed and supervised the ChildVictims Unit. Okay, awesome, very
cool. But when it pertains toyour relationship and Springfield Police Department's relationship with
our friends at Special Olympics here,you also kind of head up their efforts
for that too, don't you correct? I am the department coordinator for the
Special Olympics and Enforcement TORTUREND awesome.Awesome, And the reason we're talking about
(01:55):
Special Olympics specifically this month was notchosen arbitrarily like your May calendar up here.
But the reason we're talking about SpecialOlympics right now is because we're a
couple weeks away from one of theirbiggest, most fun and craziest fundraisers,
the Polar Plunge. Hayley, you'rerunning special Olympics around here. Can you
give us a little bit of insightinto what the polar Plunge is all about?
(02:16):
When it is all the stuff?Yeah? Absolutely so. Our Springfield
Polar Plunge is Saturday, March second, out at the Ski Sheck. Registration
will start at ten thirty that morning. Plunges will begin at noon, and
we ask that everybody register online atsomo dot org slash Plunge, and then
(02:40):
we ask that each plunger raises aminimum of seventy five dollars to help all
of our efforts in the Southwest areato support all of our athletes and all
of our sporting programs. And thenonce we get all of our plunges there,
we get all of them lined upand we start taking the plunge into
(03:00):
super cold water. But it's alot of fun and all of ours all
last. We have a ton ofre turners over the year. We have
several school teams and community teams thatcome out and plunge with us. They
battle to see who can have thebest costumes to match the theme. This
(03:22):
year's theme is Hawaiian. We alsohave certain teams that try to raise the
most money and get awards for thatas well. It's just a lot of
fun. All of our athletes inthe area try to come out if they
can, and they love having theplungers out there. They get a kick
out of seeing everybody take the plungeand support their their sports and support them
(03:46):
personally. So it's really awesome.It's a fun time. We have people
that don't want to plunge and theyjust come out and hang out with us
too. Yeah, that's awesome,man, And these are a really good
time. Since my second year,I think in radio, which was a
long long time ago, in someway, shape, form or fashion,
(04:06):
I've done something with the Polar Plunge, I think every year since then,
so this would be like fifteen orsixteen years in a row. It's insanity
and every year it never ceases tobe a really good time. Man.
I should also mention that Hayley istraveling right now, so as you're talking
to us, a couple of timesthe audio is cut out, but we
(04:28):
will get to the bottom of everything. We'll recap everything as the show goes
on today and then of course allthe information is available at SOMO dot org.
Kaylee Friend, Sergeant Kayley Friend fromthe police Department. I see you
out there all the time at thePolar Plunge. Can you explain just a
little bit about like why that is? Like why is law enforcement not only
(04:49):
such a presence at the Polar Plunge, but also just with Special Olympics here
in Southwest Missouri in general. Well, we are the one enfortment law enforcement
torch run portion of the Special Olympics. So this is one of our biggest
fundraisers and one of our biggest waysto give back to the athletes. So
(05:11):
that's one of the reasons why I'mout there is it's it's a great opportunity
for fundraising. It's fun. Yeah, I've been doing it. Let's see
since on t twenty one was actuallythe first time that I did the Polar
Plunge. Before that, I Iwas kind of one of those bisses that's
like, I'll do the run,but cold water is not really for me.
(05:35):
And then I got I got suckedin, and now it's every year
and then even two years ago,I did the super Plunge, which was
twenty four plunges in twenty four hours, and I'm going to do a repeat
of that this year and do thesuper Plunge. Oh man. So it's
it's a it's another way of raisingraising funds for Special Olympics and it's our
(05:58):
biggest fun fundring statewide. Yeah,you mentioned the Torch Run. I know
that that is a symbolic ceremonial andrevolves around Special Olympics and what they do,
not just here locally, but statewide. Could you expand a little bit
on that, like what you meanby torch Run. So, the Torch
Run was actually founded by four membersof an agency in Kansas, and it's
(06:24):
actually worldwide that it's law enforcements Iguess contribution of protecting the flame for the
Special Olympics. So the Olympic TorchSo there was four runners back in Kansas
that initiated that movement and were guardiansof the flame as law enforcement. So
(06:48):
it's not just statewide, it's actuallyworldwide that our entity of the Special Olympics
as law enforcement is the Torch Runand being guardians of the point. That's
Sergeant Kayley Friend from the Springfield PoliceDepartment. Hailey Blevin's also joining. She's
the development director for Southwest Missouri SpecialOlympics. Here. Can you just briefly,
(07:11):
Haley, just talk a little bitabout what that relationship is like between
Special Olympics and law enforcement and whatit means for you guys. Sure so
to speak as to what Kaylee wasjust explaining with how the law enforcement torch
one was started and everything. It'sa huge community awareness piece for us.
(07:32):
So all of our officers getting togethercarrying the torch and protecting the flame,
being the guardians of the flame.It means it's huge symbolic movement for us,
but it also means that our athletesare you know, being protected by
our law enforcement. They're being includedin everything that our community is doing.
(07:58):
They're being wrecked regnized by other communitymembers. You know, we're carrying the
torch down the road and people stopand ask, hey, what are what
are they doing this for? Andso we get to educate our community on
what Special Olympics is doing, youknow, here locally, but also statewide
nationally, and so it becomes areally good opportunity for us to spread spread
(08:20):
awareness about Special Olympics. And whatour athletes are able to do, and
all of the amazing things that we'reable to do to support those athletes on
and off the fields. Awesome,awesome. So I'm talking about a fundraiser
here with the Polar Plunge. Iknow a lot of folks may not be
aware of the full scope of whatSpecial Olympics is here in Southwest Missouri and
(08:45):
what these funds go to support.I know this is a big ask,
Hayley, but can you just kindof give an overview of what all Special
Olympics does here in Southwest Missouri.Yes, absolutely so. We have in
southwest Missouri, we actually cover abouttwenty four different counties, so we have
(09:07):
athletes from Nevada and joplinin all theway over to West Plains and Howe County
and everywhere in between. So wehave a good large area of athletes that
we're trying to support. We havethirteen sports currently that we provide statewide.
Those all are all offered here inSouthwest Missouri. We have. Additionally,
(09:35):
we have four emerging sports that weare working on getting out and going,
including cheer and dance. Those arenewer. Pickaball and soccer are also emerging
sports that are becoming more popular andwe're getting more teams for We are actually
working currently on hosting some clinics forpickaball and soccer and dance so that we
(09:58):
can encouragge athletes to try some differentsports that they haven't been able to access
before through special Olympics. So that'sreally exciting. That's a huge push of
why we're why we're raising funds thisyear in particular. Overall though we have
we have so many athletes in ourarea, We serviced right around two thousand
(10:20):
athletes currently and we're only we're stillonly hitting about four percent of what we
could be servicing in our area.So you know, we're we're really working
on and being much more inclusive,on getting into schools and getting into different
community groups and just different efforts suchas downstream groups of the Ozarks or Abilities
(10:43):
First that are in the area,working with those types of organizations so that
we can also help help who they'reserving and they can help who we're serving.
So it becomes a really good opportunityfor us to raise funds and be
able to support all of the athletesthat were able to reach and these sporting
(11:07):
events cost very little to not almostnothing for all of our athletes that participate.
So it's a huge accomplishment for usto be able to offer all of
these sports at no cost. Andthat's what all of these funds go towards.
Facility rentals, equipment rentals, youknow, helping buy uniforms for different
(11:31):
teams, and everything that you canthink of that would go into sports,
our referees and all of that.So it becomes really important and very costly
once we start adding in new sportsand everything. So every year, I'm
amazed, since I've started a fewyears ago, that the community just seems
(11:54):
to buy in a little bit moreevery year, and it's starting to grow
a lot down here in southwest Missouri. So yeah, every little bit helps
in the law enforcement do a greatjob of promoting Special Olympics and showing the
support to our athletes. So thismay be a bit more philosophical than we
(12:15):
need to get, but you know, we've got to fill a half hour,
so let's do it. You mentioned, though, a couple of really
cool organizations here in town that supportthe same community that Special Olympics does.
As you mentioned abilities first, they'reall, you know, all added a
couple others too with our friends overit, like DCO for example, Arc
of the Ozarks. Those to me, you know, those organizations do a
(12:41):
lot with this community as far aslife skills, practical life skills, things
that on an everyday basis, thingsyou'll need to know in order to move
Maybe you need to learn or havesupport in learning a little bit extra in
order to just be a part ofthe community. Why is and this could
just be your opinion, but whyis also being included in sporting events like
(13:05):
this important? Sure? So,we believe that sports brings people together in
a way that not many other thingscan. So the the purpose of belonging
somewhere. So, you know,you have your life skills, you have
all of these other things that allof these other amazing organizations are able to
provide. But then where do yougo with them? What are you able
(13:28):
to accomplish? You know, someof our some of our athletes are able
to hold jobs, others are not. Some of our athletes are able to,
you know, go out in thecommunity and be advocates for themselves and
their peers. Some of them don'thave that capability. So we provide an
opportunity for everybody to be included,and we have an opportunity for these athletes
(13:52):
that are with Special Olympics to feellike doesn't matter what their ability is,
doesn't matter the level of their ability, They're able to participate in these sports
just like everybody else does. Andso it provides a sense of belonging to
It provides a sense of unity andinclusion within our community. And a part
(14:13):
of that is that we also havewhat we call our unified partners. So
all of our athletes in Special Olympicshave intellectual disabilities, So those without intellectual
disabilities are able to still participate inour sports by becoming a unified partner and
playing alongside all of these athletes thatdo have intellectual disabilities, and it really
(14:35):
just becomes a community thing and itallows them to feel like they are involved
in everything that their community is involvedin. You know, there's sports teams
all over the place. They don'tnecessarily have the same capabilities as others,
and this allows them to play atthe same level as everybody else, and
(14:56):
it just kind of really, Idon't know, you grow friends side of
it. Even as a staff memberand a volunteer. You come out of
there every single time and you haveten new best friends. I mean,
it's just it creates this just asense of community and belonging that you can't
get out of just any other projector any other event that you go to.
(15:20):
It's I mean, I really encouragepeople to come out and experience it
for themselves, because until you attenda Special Olympics event, you just you
don't get it. And then onceyou come, I promise you'll never forget
about coming back. You'll always wantto come back. I want to take
that sentiment and bring back in SergeantKaylee friend from the Springfield Police Department here
(15:45):
who's just waiting very patiently, andI appreciate it. Kaylee, because she
is the Special Olympics Liaison is atthe right title I'll give you between the
Police Department and Special Olympics here insouthwest Missouri. She's also participating for the
second year in a row in thesuperlun portion of the Polar Plunge, which
is coming up in early March herein Springfield. But just as let's say,
as a human right, not acop, not a not a plunger,
(16:07):
just a person who's now been aroundSpecial Olympics in a in a deeper
capacity. The last few years.What has been your experience, how has
your life been affected by being apart of Special Olympics here in Southwest Missouri.
Oh man, I've been impacted sogreatly. I Actually my first experience
(16:30):
with the Special Olympics was when theyhad the State Games here in Springfield,
and this would have been back inlet's say twenty ten or twenty eleven.
That was that was my first experienceas well. So that that that's funny.
Yeah. So and they do theopening ceremony where all of the athletes,
it's a parade of athletes and they'recoming into the stadium and just a
(16:55):
joy and the excitement that all ofthe athletes bring. I mean, you
can't as a human, you can'tdeny their excitement and their joy and just
seeing that how it makes you feellike, Okay, this is a good
cause. This is exciting for metoo. You can't. They just exude
(17:18):
all those things onto everybody around them. So that was some of my first
experiences. And then they had theState Games, who probably back in fourteen
or fifteen back here, same kindof thing. And then I've gotten to
be involved with some of the bowlingthat they've had here and putting metals around
the next of the athletes, andlike they're excited to see you, but
(17:42):
honestly just so much more exciting tosee them and their accomplishments. My first
experience is kind of similar to yoursin what we've took away from it.
And I know this show is morefor the guests than the host, but
I'm I'm gonna lay out my storytoo, because this is a personal cause
(18:03):
for me too, and if itresounds with somebody the same way that,
like, I heard your story,Kayley, and I was like, yeah,
that makes sense. I remember goingas the radio station capacity because we
had a full timer, you know, big time dude who had put together
a team to go donate some timeat the state games, and I was
sent out there to volunteer to justtake pictures of what was going on.
(18:29):
And I remember leaving there after witnessingwhat was happening at those games and less
about the competition, more about theemotions on display and how there was nothing
being held back, and at theend of each competition, each round of
something, the prevailing emotion was positiveand friendly, and even though there was
(18:57):
no holding back of either happiness inthe moment, anger, in the moment,
frustration, sadness, all of theseemotions that I have a very hard
time expressing because of how I wasbrought up, right, I just bury
them all deep down inside. Herethey were on full display for the world.
And then at the end when everyonehas come together, when the competition
(19:19):
portion is over and we're all justbeing humans again, the prevailing emotion on
display was positivity. And I justthought, boy, if we could just
bottle this, this idea that we'reallowed to be mad or upset or sad
or happy, joyous and show it, you know, not bury it all
(19:41):
deep down inside, but be ableto express these emotions in a place in
a way where it's productive for usas individuals, and then at the end
come together as a community, andthat one commonality that we have and get
to express and all experience is apositive one, like an amazing thing to
not just be an outsider looking in. But it made me want to be
(20:06):
a part of it as well,and so that's kind of where things took
off for me. And ever sincethen, it's been fun in one capacity
to the other to go out thereand help out. I've done everything from
hosting events like that opening ceremonies.I was asked to host a couple of
times. That was super duper funbeing somebody who helped on the field during
(20:26):
some games, helped coach during somegames, or just out there cheering along.
I mean, this is over afifteen year span, so it's hard
to remember all of them, butit's been a ton of fun. And
I'm excited because my kids are gettingto the age where they're old enough now
to start understanding what donating their timelooks like, you know, instead of
just like trudging through because it's somethingthat Dad brought me to. Now it's
(20:51):
I'm excited to be able to maybepush them a little bit more into that
world as well. No better place, by the way, to get involved
than the polar plunge because it's notand there's nothing else going on in early
March, you know what I mean. So let's recap what's coming up with
the polar plunge that is early March, and I'll throw it to Haley Blevins,
who's joining us, the development directorfrom Southwest Missouri's Special Olympics. Here
(21:14):
recap once again, polar plunge.It's coming up. What's happening, Yes,
Polar Plunge Saturday, March second,at the Ski Shack on South Campbell.
We will be there's beginning at tenthirty. Plunges will begin at noon
and we will we will be takingthe plunge with all of our plungers and
(21:38):
hopefully they'll bring in a whole bunchof awesome funds for us this year.
But we're more excited, I think, to see what kind of costumes come
out of it. Just to theHawaiian theme. It's always a great time
to see everybody out there, youknow, seeing everybody meet our athletes and
(21:59):
join in together, see people thatthey haven't seen since the last plunge.
It's always a great time. Awesome. And if somebody wants to get involved,
whether or not they want to jumpin the water or not, how
where's a good place for them toget that information? Is there a cutoff
date for when they need to beregistered if they do want to take the
plunge? Absolutely, so, there'snot a cut off date. You can
(22:21):
come up the day of the plungeand register. We ask that all plungers
pledge a minimum of seventy five dollars. We encourage you guys to sign up
ahead of time. We have anonline registration soom dot org slash Plunge and
you can get signed up for theSpringfield Plunge. And then after you sign
(22:48):
up, you can spread the word, get people to send funds for you,
and you can help raise a lotmore than just seventy five dollars by
sharing it on your social media pagesare with friends and family. Yeah,
you'd be amazed at how many peopleand this is just me talking to our
audience, how many people you aren'taware of looking at your social media that
(23:11):
will donate to a cause like thisfor the sheer outlandishness of the activity you're
involved in. You know, it'snot, hey, donate to my son's
baseball team, not saying that isn'ta worthy cause, but it's Hey,
I'm going to go jump in thisfreezing cold lake out behind the ski shack
on March second, and it's allto raise money for special Olympics. And
if I think the you know whatpeople see as well, if they're willing
(23:33):
to do that nutso thing, Ican give five, ten, fifteen bucks
whatever you know it is, soI would, yeah, absolutely encourage folks.
It's a pretty easy one to raisemoney for. And you guys give
them all the tools there at Somodot org. I'm going to give this
one, this last question to aSergeant Kayley Friend from the Springfield Police Department
because she's an influential figure. Ifwe've got people listening who are thinking about
(23:59):
taking the polar place this year,maybe for the first time, what would
you say to them? Now isan experienced plunger and special Olympics advocate,
how would you give me your elevatorpitch to that person? Oh? Man,
I mean, it's a fun atmospherefirst off, and it's gonna provide
you with memories with your family,with your friends that are going to last
(24:21):
forever. So these times that youknow in our world that might be just
a little bit cringey right now,this is this is a light, fun
event that you know helps you forgeteverything else that's going on. So it's
going to be just a fun environment. Go plunge for a good cause.
(24:44):
Share this with your friends and family. You're not going to regret it.
Awesome, Very cool again, sO m O dot org. So Somo
dot org for all the information notjust about the Polar Plunge coming up March
second, but also special Olympics herein Southwest Missouri in general. Is good
to catch up with Haley Blevins,who's the development director. How's that Williams
character working out for you? Bythe way, Oh, he's he's pretty
(25:07):
great. We love him a lotdown here. Don't please, first of
all, don't go that over thetop when we're talking about Jesse. Okay,
like Jesse Williams, he's okay,let's just say he's okay, all
right, but I'm glad to hearhe's working out for it. And then
and so thank you so much forbeing a part of this, Hailey,
is what I meant to say,not just you know, make fun of
Jesse and then Sergeant Kayley, friend, it was good to talk to you.
(25:30):
I get to see you like oncea year, sometimes twice a year.
If I make fun of you guysduring your softball game between the fire
department and police department, they literallyhired me to come announce and make fun
of them while they played. Thatwas a good time. It is true.
This is true. Fire Department,I should just add didn't stand a
(25:52):
chance it was. It was.It was a slaughter. So well done
to the police department on that.But thank you for joining us. Kaylee
really appreciate that. Again. Ifyou're just out getting here, make sure
to join Special Olympics in their Polarplunge coming up marks the second at the
Ski Shack on South Campbell. Allthe information is available at SOMO dot org.
(26:12):
If you are just catching the restof the show and you want to
make sure you hear the entire thing, learn a little bit more about Special
Olympics, or want to listen toany other episode of the show where we
talk to other organizations or groups orindividuals concerning some issues in our community.
You can find this show, alongwith all the others, on our iHeartRadio
app or anywhere really you get yourpodcasts, just search iHeart the Ozarks.
(26:33):
It is there for you, Formyself, Clint Gurley, the rest of
our staff here at iHeartRadio, thanksfor listening. Have a great rest of
your day.
Popular Podcasts
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.