Frances Moore from our Philadelphia program has been recognized as a Special Olympics North America (SONA) 2015 Coach of the Year Finalist.The SONA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a Special Olympics coach who has made a significant and demonstrable impact on local Special Olympics Programs and their communities.
As a Coach-of-the-Year recipient, Fran is in the company of the region’s finest coaches – true leaders and dedicated coaches who serve as role models to other coaches, inside and outside of Special Olympics. She has positively impacted athletes, family members and the community. We are grateful for her hard work, applaud her high standards of excellence, and admire her generosity of heart. Fran is now considered among SONA’s Coaching Dream Team that consists of 16 additional finalists and the Coach of the Year, Tom Norton from Canada.
Fran Moore pictured at center with SOPA Board Chairman Greg Stewart and President & CEO Matt Aaron, receiving her 2015 Coach of the Year Award during the Annual Leadership Conference.
Fran is an inspirational person with an enthusiastic attitude. Since she started volunteering for Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia a decade ago, she has served on the Management Team where she held the Family Coordinator position. Within that position, Fran lead the charge to solicit athlete input and take their feedback into consideration in all aspects of Special Olympics programming.
She believes that all athletes have a voice and should be heard. That is why she also serves as a mentor for her daughter Katie Moore, who is a Global Messenger. Through Fran’s efforts, four athletes now serve as mentors to their fellow teammates; and she has encouraged and mentored three other former aquatics athletes.
Fran is currently certified in soccer and aquatics where she trains over 100 athletes each week and dedicates every weekend to coach. As a physical therapist, Fran knows that eating healthy, training, and proper stretching are the keys to being a healthy athlete. She encourages her athletes to eat healthy and teaches them proper techniques to stretching before and after practices.
In addition to her commitment to our current athletes, families and volunteers, Fran is always in search of new coaches. Over the past several years, Fran has recruited more than 10 coaches to assist at aquatics trainings.
Fran has positively impacted the entire Philadelphia program, as evidenced by her receiving the 2015 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Coach of the Year Award.
Kenneth Brown, a student at Abraham Lincoln High School in Philadelphia and a Special Olympics Unified Partner, was recently selected as a National Youth Activation Committee (YAC) member by Special Olympics North America, a top honor in the organization.
The YAC is made up of young people from across the country who work together to promote school communities where all young people are agents of change. YAC members provide advice and counsel on strategies designed to reach other youth, engage in and promote Special Olympics activities in their home environments, communicate the initiatives of Special Olympics Project UNIFY, and network with other youth and U.S. Programs on a local, national and global basis.
Kenneth got involved with Special Olympics in his high school, where his twin brother, Kevin, who has autism and intellectual disabilities, also attends. Kenneth and Kevin played on a Unified soccer team together, and the experience inspired Kenneth to get more involved with Special Olympics.
“As a National YAC member, I truly want to reach out to people on a national & local level, helping to start a chain reaction and break down barriers,” Kenneth explains. “I want to empower others so that one-day their dreams will come true too. My favorite part about being involved with Project UNIFY is that every day is another opportunity to help another someone’s dreams come true.”
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