W
hen you talk to Pamela Sparks, you immediately
feel her passion for an organization that she not only
works for, but one that has improved her family’s
quality of life. As the County Director for Special
Olympics Florida since 2016, Pamela’s energy and excitement for
the organization, its athletes, and families has made an impression.
The ultimate objective of Special Olympics Florida is to help people
with intellectual disabilities participate as productive and respected
members of society at large, by offering them a fair opportunity
to develop and demonstrate their skills and talents through sports
training and competition, and by increasing the public’s awareness of
their capabilities and needs.
Pamela fi rst became involved with Special Olympics as a “Fan
in the Stands” in 2005 when her son, Chase, and his teammates
participated in basketball through the Silver Sands School. She
later volunteered at state games and traveled to other parts of the
state for surfi ng and stand up paddle competitions. In 2016 she was
chaperoning state games for golf and realized the organization was
without a county director. After lots of thought and prayer, she
decided to apply for the job, along with 108 other applicants. Pamela
had a 6-fi gure job and going to work for a non-profi t would be life
changing for her. She put it in God’s hands and was soon offered
the position. The job has rewarded her in many more ways than
monetarily. Pamela was active in the community and she took the
bull by the horns as the Okaloosa chapter was in dire need of public
awareness and needed to additional sports.
Since Pamela’s involvement with the organization there has been
substantial growth. State wide, Special Olympics Florida serves
nearly 50,000 athletes including Unifi ed partner and Young Athletes.
Okaloosa County has been a great contributor to that number. Special
Olympics Florida proudly recognized Okaloosa County with three
awards in 2018: #1 Medium-sized County for Greatest Percentage
Increase in Number of Unifi ed Partners; #1 Medium-sized County
for Greatest Percentage of Sports Certifi cations Added; #1 Medium-
sized County for Greatest Percentage of Athlete Health Screenings.
Special Olympics never charges an athlete/unifi ed partner or their
parent/caretaker for participation regardless of their demographics
or economics. They provide everything from water at practice, to
uniforms, transportation, food, and lodging. Special Olympics
Florida – Okaloosa County is not government funded – they have to
fundraise locally so every dollar matters. It is important for Special
Olympic donors to make their contributions locally.
Special olympics Florida - Okaloosa County is located at
1978-B Lewis Turner Boulevard in Fort Walton Beach. Visit
SpecialOlympicsFlorida.org/okaloosa or email pamelasparks@sofl .org.
story by
Greg Alexander
|
photos provided by
Special Olympics Florida
96-97 Give Care Share_Special Olympics Florida.indd 1
12/27/18 7:04 PM