This year’s Celebration of Inclusion took place on December 4^th at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library and welcomed Special Olympics Massachusetts community members from across the state, who came together to reflect on the year’s accomplishments and honor those who have been instrumental in propelling the mission forward.  

Meet the 2023 honorees who are paving the way for more opportunities, more sports, and more inclusion.  

Since playing on the very first Unified sports team, Terry Kielty has seen Special Olympics MA transcend in so many ways. She puts the athletes first and foremost every day, and Special Olympics MA celebrates her 30th anniversary of working for this great mission.  

Bob Beach is known for his expertise within the Golf world and has helped Special Olympics MA with coach training, running athlete skill centers, and establishing young athlete programs while strengthening Special Olympics MA’s relationships with Mass Golf Association and New England PGA. For his lifetime of advocating for the mission of Special Olympics and to enhance the lives of people with disabilities, Special Olympics Massachusetts, The Massachusetts Golf Association, and the New England PGA have partnered to honor him for his life of service and have created the Bob Beach Award which will be given each year to someone in the Golf world that embodies the values Bob has shown over the years.  

Not everyone can make it to every Special Olympics event; however, volunteer photographer Chuck Lindberg gets to a lot more than most. Because of him, families get to experience Special Olympics even if they can’t make it in-person. From the Berkshires to Cape Cod, Chuck Lindberg makes it his mission to ensure that athletes and local programs across the state have photos to look back on and be proud of.

Chris Szal is passionate about alpine skiing, so much so that he is involved with training four of the seven alpine ski teams in Massachusetts. He is also a key member of the Special Olympics MA skiing leadership team. Beyond the slopes, he volunteers at multiple events throughout the spring and summer and supports the athletes in pretty much any role he is asked to fill. Chris Szal also coaches one of Shrewsbury’s soccer teams, and when things were at their worst, he oversaw a walking club hosted at our offices in Marlborough during the pandemic.

Field assignments, coordinating coaches, communicating with athletes and their families, ensuring there are sufficient equipment and uniforms, these tasks are all handled for a Cape Cod program by Gail Capello. Gail has opened Mid-Cape sports to athletes from other programs that have required extra support—such as temporarily absorbing athletes from a local Special Olympics track team one season when their coach was injured. Her commitment to the community on the Cape and the athletes she serves is admirable.

To be your best on the field, you must put in the work through training and at practices. Not everyone knows how to stay fit and develop a healthy lifestyle, but because of Beth & Gina Donahue, there are many more resources available. Beth & Gina are a dynamic duo who run fitness classes, develop wellness videos for the Special Olympics community, and represent Special Olympics MA at numerous events with partners like Arbella Insurance and the Boston Bruins.  

There are many opinions about what Unified Sports should look like and some of that is based on the ability level of the athletes and Unified partners involved. But one thing that should be central to Playing Unified is that everyone should be treated with respect and held to standards that will help each player grow and develop their skills. Deb Godbout has done just that with the New England Revolution Unified Team. She took on the head coaching role in 2022 and the team has grown by leaps and bounds since—Deb has pushed the marquee program in the Revolution partnership to new heights.  

Stephanie Maniatis started volunteering for Special Olympics MA when the Winter Games were first held in Worcester. She eventually found her way to the Local Program in Shrewsbury and began volunteering as a coach and assistant coach for a few years. Unfortunately, she stopped volunteering for a few years but eventually reappeared right back to coaching for Shrewsbury in track & field, basketball, and soccer. When explaining her absence, she had actually gone back to school and to become a Special Education Teacher. Since becoming a teacher, she has been responsible for the Marlborough Young Athletes program, is instrumental in training new Young Athlete Leaders, brought the Unified Champions Program to her school, ran the Unified Game Day for the Quabog School District and still continues to coach for the Shrewsbury local program.

Ashley Aldrich volunteers with one of the biggest programs in the state; and the program coordinator said she is someone that she could not run her local program without. Ashley volunteers with the Milford program Monday through Friday, organizing medical forms, completing data entry, and volunteers at every event possible. In addition to all the volunteer work, Ashley is an accomplished Special Olympics athlete and has represented Massachusetts at USA games and at the NBA All-Star game.  

One of the best things about our professional sports partnerships is that they put Special Olympics athletes on the same stage as the pros in the eyes of the public. They have a hand in raising the bar for our athletes, bringing professional quality to programming and training. The New England PGA has done all of this and more by hosting a Drive, Chip and Putt program each Fall and raising critical funds through their Birdies 2 Benefit tournament in support of growing Special Olympics Golf in Massachusetts.

In 2023 there was a Special Olympics athlete who just seemed to be everywhere. Matt Cobb first signed up for Athlete Leadership training, he was then spotted at the NE Revolution Unified Team tryout, followed quickly by running the BAA 5K. He was chosen as one of two athletes to run the torch for the first ever Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg in June, plays basketball, soccer, and flag football for Hockomock, and much more. Matt has truly raised the profile of Special Olympics in his community.