February 2019 Winners
Alixandria Jackson
Female Athlete of the Month
Denver Region
Alixandria is a Junior at Brighton High School and has been participating with Special Olympics Colorado (SOCO) for three years as part of the Brighton High School Unified Program competing in basketball, soccer, and flag football. Alixandria traveled to Seattle in July to compete with the Brighton High School Unified Soccer Team at the Special Olympics USA Games where they brought home a silver medal! She loves competing with Special Olympics Colorado because she has made new life-long friends.
Alixandra sings in the church choir, does praise dancing (that she creates herself), and is also an usher. Congratulations Alixandria on being named the Female Athlete of the Month!
Billy Chacon
Male Athlete of the Month
Denver Region
Billy has been a Special Olympics Colorado Athlete for 13 years. He competes in track and field, snowshoeing, tennis, basketball and bowling. Billy has worked at Goodwill Industries for 20 years and is very involved in the community. His caregivers say that Special Olympics makes him extremely happy. Billy has all of his medals and ribbons on display in his bedroom.
Billy always looks forward to his practices and events. He even keeps a calendar so he can always know his schedule. Congratulations Billy on being named the Male Athlete of the Month!
Kristen Katrell
Coach of the Month
DenverRegion
Kristen Kitrell has been volunteering with Special Olympics Colorado since 2006 and has been coaching our Unified Juniors for the past three years in basketball, soccer and t-ball.
Kristen loves coaching our athletes and gets energized by seeing the smiles on their faces. She says, “The athletes and coaches have taught me so much and I love working with the other coaches.” Kristen has also supported our athletes by volunteering at regional and state bowling competitions, and at our Plane Pull and Polar Plunge fundraising events. Congratulations Kristen on being named the Coach of the Month!
The Ewari Family
Family of the Month
Denver Region
Angela Ewari, mother of Azur and Enzo, has been involved with Special Olympics Colorado since 2004. Angela has been actively involved with SOCO as an Assistant Skating Director, Volunteer and Information Services Director, Assistant Golf Director, and Human Resources Director. Her sons, Azur and Enzo, both began volunteering with Angela when they were just five years old. At age 10, they began volunteering at the SOCO State Summer Games in Grand Junction. Azur and Enzo are currently members of the SOCO Youth Activation Committee. Enzo will be participating in the Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Forum in Dubai at the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in March. Angela says, “We all have developed a greater level of respect and compassion for everybody from our experiences with Special Olympics Colorado. The athletes have shown us the beauty of smiling and appreciating what you have, at any stage, with any result.” Congratulations to the Ewari family on being named the Family of the Month!
Dan Jones
Volunteer of the Month
Western Region
Dan has been volunteering for Special Olympics Colorado since 1981! He started volunteering with Special Olympics New Jersey with their alpine skiing program. Dan moved to Colorado and continued to volunteer at SOCO’s regional and state events until 1995 when he moved to Delta. He broke in his coaching shoes as an assistant coach in alpine skiing. Dan then started coaching track and field, aquatics, basketball, softball and bowling! He says his favorite sport to coach is aquatics.
Dan is truly committed to the Delta County Special Olympics Colorado athletes and is involved year-round. He enjoys the fun activities that go along with our competitions, especially the dances and Olympic Town! Congratulations Dan on being named the Volunteer of the Month!
Westerra Credit Union
Community Partner of the Month
Westerra Credit Union has been involved with Special Olympics Colorado as an Annual Partner since 2014. They have engaged with our athletes and programs in almost every way possible. Westerra is the presenting sponsor of the Polar Plunge Series and the Westerra Team raises funds and takes the plunge for our athletes. They hold R-Word Campaigns in every branch location, and their employees even wear SOCO t-shirts! Westerra Credit Union recently won two national awards through the Credit Union National Association in connection with our partnership to help raise awareness for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Their support helps fund programming in 361 Unified Champion Schools. They also donate $52.80 to SOCO when a new account is opened. Thank you to Westerra Credit Union for your ongoing support of our athletes and congratulations on being named the Community Partner of the Month!