Philadelphia has a new Athlete Leadership Chair

Philadelphia has a new Athlete Leadership Chair! Our Athlete Committee consisting of eight athletes Teddy Angerman, Raymond Anderson, Lisa Barbour, James Sheldon, Matt Grabowski, Sharon Quarles, Alison Ruitzer and Brian Stulz meet on a regular basis under the mentorship of Rosemary Duffy and Jon Garvey. The Athlete Leadership Council meets to discuss ways to get Philadelphia athletes more involved in fundraising and other Special Olympics PA activities, collecting feedback from training and competitions from other athletes and working towards solutions, and being the voice of Special Olympics Philadelphia athletes. Our Athlete Leadership Committee met on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, to discuss the progress of Philadelphia as well as to  elect a new Athlete Leadership Chair. 

Lisa Barbour (right) passes the Philadelphia Athlete Leadership Chair to fellow athlete, Teddy Angerman

To be considered for the Athlete Leadership Chair, an athlete must be a certified Athlete Representative. Our two Athlete Representatives, Teddy Angerman and Raymond Anderson both gave a speech on why they would like to be the Athlete Chair and afterwards – the committee took it to a vote. After the votes were counted, it was announced that Teddy Angerman was voted the new Athlete Chair! After it was announced that Teddy was the new chair, current chair, Lisa Barbour, passed over the torch to Teddy. Lisa will now mentor Teddy as he begins as the new Athlete Leadership Chair. Congratulations, Teddy!

Through organized training and practical experiences, Athlete Leadership prepares athletes for important positions of influence and leadership throughout the Special Olympics organization, both on and off the playing field. Athletes with the proper training and coaching can lead us into the future.   Athlete Leaders within all levels of our program have strong voices, a desire to get involved, and a better understanding of what their needs are and where we should be heading as an organization. Athlete Leaders can play a role as coaches, officials, ALPs University instructors, ALPsS University mentors, Special Olympics employees, volunteers, games organizing committees, and much more!