2016 Newsletter
2016 Newsletter June already, wow!
We are back from a great time in Spearfish at the State Summer games. Ready to enjoying our summer break before we jump into softball season. We want to share a number of new and exciting things with each of you.
Fall Classic 2016
The Softball season is now the Fall Classic which also includes Bocce Ball! Bocce is on Friday and Softball is on Sat/Sun. Athletes can compete in both Bocce & Softball! Sign up will be available online June 27-July 10. No one will be allowed to sign up after July 10. The in-person sign up is Wednesday, June 29 at the Caille Library (W 49th St) 6:307:30 p.m. Practices will begin the week of July 25 and will be held at McCart Park.
Bocce Ball is a life-time sport, great for all athletes of any ability (no running or jumping required). Bocce Ball is played in pairs. Athletes will either be paired with another athlete or can sign up with a unified partner. Players roll a ball trying to get closest to the pallina (target ball). The pair with the ball closest to the pallina gets the point! Play continues until a team gets 12 points. Bocce Ball practice will be at the same location as Softball, McCart Park Softball and Bocce Ball practices will be Tuesday and Thursday. Bocce will be one night and Softball the other. It has not yet been determined which sport will be practiced on which night.
Coaches Training: Starting in 2016 all coaches are required to complete a coaches training. This includes an in-person class and online courses. At a minimum, coaches are required to complete 2 hours of training time. Head coaches have much more. We want to thank the many coaches that have taken the time to complete this training! We currently have 21 coaches level 1 certified, 26 coaches level 2 certified and one coach level 5 certified (Joel Lubovich).
Upcoming Events Aug 20 Sep 16-18 Oct 15 Oct 29 Nov 5-6 Nov 19-20
SE Area Softball Tournament Sioux Falls Fall Classic (Bocce/Softball) Rapid City SE Area Traditional Bowling Tournament Sioux Falls SE Area Unified Bowling Tournament Mitchell State Traditional Bowling Tournament Aberdeen State Unified Bowling Tournament Sioux Falls
Where will the games be played? Basketball: Summer Games: Fall Classic: 2016 Mitchell 2016 Spearfish 2016 Rapid City 2017 Mitchell 2017 Brookings 2017 Mitchell 2018 Mitchell 2018 Spearfish 2018 Mitchell 2019 Pierre 2019 Brookings 2019 Rapid City 2020 Mitchell 2020 Spearfish 2020 Mitchell 2021 Pierre 2021 Up for Bid 2021 Rapid City
Let Us Know!
Athletes/Coaches/Volunteers Keep us updated if you have a new address, phone#, email. Please email updates to [email protected]
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Sioux Falls Fireworks Committee:
SOSD 2015 Award Winners
Colleen Moran, Chair Chad Hellenga, Vice Chair Elaine Hoover, Secretary Misty Farabee, Treasurer Diana Schuller Justin Haper Shelly Miller Emily Loos Caitlin Borges
SOSD 2015 Family of the Year – The Mork Family. The Southeast Area has been blessed with the dedication of a family that has been actively volunteering since 2007. The Mork’s boast a volunteer base of 36 strong and are comprised of 7 families plus momma Bev: Sue and Dave Houska, Mary & Kurt Lunstra, Gary & Melissa Mork, Kenny & Dianne Mork, Tom Mork, Michelle & Scott Solberg and Barb Sandoval, Bo Albers & children. Many of these folks have taken on key leadership roles at SE Area events, including aquatics, athletics, softball and bowling events. Collectively, they have volunteered 1,500 hours over the past 9 years. Congratulations to the Family Mork!
Committee members are elected for a 3-year term. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please contact Colleen Moran at [email protected] or speak with any of the committee members. HelpLine: Spirit of Volunteerism Group Award Our Sioux Falls Fireworks Committee won this award for 2015! The award is given in celebration of a group of people who exemplify the true Spirit of Volunteerism! 2015 Sioux Falls Humanitarian Award Our Sports Director, Heather Leischner was a nominee for this prestigious award! The Sioux Falls Human Relations Commission annual Humanitarian Award. Nominees should demonstrate the spirit of humanitarianism by promoting positive interaction, acceptance, respect and appreciation of human diversity. Diversity includes such things as race, religion, sexual orientation, physical capabilities, socioeconomic status, national origin, and age.
Lyle Farrand Volunteer of the Year – Misty Farabee Misty has been involved with the Sioux Falls Fireworks for 19 years. In the early years, she coached softball, volleyball, track and bowling. She continues to assist with sports when needed. According to the Fireworks sports director, “Misty is a volunteer that I can count on at a moment’s notice.” More recently, Misty’s talents have been utilized in the areas of bookkeeping, money management, fundraising and athlete recruitment. As stated in her nomination, “Misty’s work has without question made the Fireworks a better delegation, thus making the experience for our athletes the best it can be. She is always giving of her time, even when she really doesn’t have it to give. Regardless of her role with the Fireworks, her goals are always the same…to serve our athletes.”
Our Website www.sosiouxfalls.org - a great resource for information on upcoming sports, practices and fundraisers.
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We have Spiritwear! Everyone be sure and thank Becky Brennan for taking on this project and doing such a fine job! We have short and long sleeved T-shirts and sweatshirts. It is great to see so many of you wearing it as you cheer for our athletes! Please email Becky if you are interested in buying Fireworks Spiritwear ([email protected]) or watch for the Spiritwear table at coming events.
Athlete: Jon Mallett Jon has been an athlete for many years, participating in Basketball, Soccer, Powerlifting, Track, Softball, and Bowling. Jon is well liked by everyone as he has a very calm and personable demeanor, and will talk to anyone. Jon was on the SOSF Committee last year and was instrumental in picking out our new duffle bags the athletes are getting at practices now. Jon is most proud of his involvement with the Polar Plunge the past six years. He loves to dress up, and his favorite was being Robin to Mike Twedt’s Batman. They made quite a pair. Thank you Jon for being an athlete and supporter of the Fireworks!!
Bags! Bags! Bags! Through a grant from the Legends for Kids we were able to get a duffle bag for each athlete. They will be handed out at practices until each athlete has one.
Alison List is the 2016 “Let Me Win” challenge winner raising $1,107.50 by herself! This is Alison’s third year in a row raising over $1,000 for Sioux Falls Fireworks!
Awesome Job Alison!!
Athlete: Spencer Collins – Torch Run Our very own Spencer Collins was chosen as an athlete representative to join the SD LETR Torch Run this year. Spencer ran in more than a dozen cities across South Dakota, ending at Opening Ceremonies at BHSU in Spearfish! Great Job Spencer!
Below are the 2015 average costs per athlete for each sport. Basketball (95) Spring Games (74) Softball (81) Traditional Bowling (56) Unified Bowling (86)
$77/athlete $36/athlete $118/athlete $125/athlete $41/athlete
The number in ( ) is the number of athletes that participated in the state event in 2015. Athletes do not pay to participate – these costs are covered through our fundraising events and donations.
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Fundraising $$ is very important! In 2015 we had the following fundraisers: Soup Supper $1,177 Polar Plunge $13,834 Golf Classic $26,134 St Patrick’s Day Buttons $1,967 Stampede/Chuck-a-Puck $2,491 Pigskin Madness $900 Strikes for SO (2014) $1,626 Totaling: $56,554 In addition, we rely on donations from many generous people in our delegation and our community. In 2015 we received $4,900 in donations. Some Employers offer grants or incentive programs for volunteerism benefitting a non-profit of your choice. Please take advantages of these program!
Fundraising Committee Andra & Larry Kallhoff, Co-Chairs Elaine Hoover, Secretary Meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. We usually meet at the Main library downtown.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join!
Volunteer Opportunities: The Sioux Falls Fireworks would not exist today without the time, energy, dedication, and commitment of our dedicated volunteers. We need more families, friends and community members to volunteer. The following positions are currently open. Traditional Bowling Volunteers: Volunteers need to ensure athletes remain in their lane, bowl when it is their turn, bowl in the correct lane and CHEER! Practices are once per week on Saturday late morning/early afternoon. Basketball Coaches: Volunteers with previous basketball coaching or playing experience to coach a team of 8-10 athletes once per week. Coaches are required to attend the Area and State tournaments. Basketball and Softball Unified Partners: Play on a basketball or softball team with the Special Olympics athletes. Unified partners are required to attend practice once per week and tournaments. Bocce Ball Volunteers: Assist athletes at practice to keep them on task and focused on the training. Fundraising Volunteers: Lead or assist with fund-raising events. There are a variety of opportunities. Logistics: Plan and organize meals and hotel rooms for out-of-town travel events.
We need volunteers to help with manning the moveups on the T boxes, need help selling tickets for the balloon ride, taking pictures, etc. Love to have you come and help. Collin Email Collin at: [email protected] for more information or to help with the event.
Recruitment: Promote Special Olympics within the Sioux Falls community to find new athletes and volunteers. Uniforms: Manage and organize athlete and volunteer uniforms. NOTE: please visit www.sosiouxfalls.org and select the "Volunteers" tab for a complete description of each open position. 4|Page
We are back from a great time in Spearfish at the State Summer games. Ready to enjoying our summer break before we jump into softball season. We want to share a number of new and exciting things with each of you.
Fall Classic 2016
The Softball season is now the Fall Classic which also includes Bocce Ball! Bocce is on Friday and Softball is on Sat/Sun. Athletes can compete in both Bocce & Softball! Sign up will be available online June 27-July 10. No one will be allowed to sign up after July 10. The in-person sign up is Wednesday, June 29 at the Caille Library (W 49th St) 6:307:30 p.m. Practices will begin the week of July 25 and will be held at McCart Park.
Bocce Ball is a life-time sport, great for all athletes of any ability (no running or jumping required). Bocce Ball is played in pairs. Athletes will either be paired with another athlete or can sign up with a unified partner. Players roll a ball trying to get closest to the pallina (target ball). The pair with the ball closest to the pallina gets the point! Play continues until a team gets 12 points. Bocce Ball practice will be at the same location as Softball, McCart Park Softball and Bocce Ball practices will be Tuesday and Thursday. Bocce will be one night and Softball the other. It has not yet been determined which sport will be practiced on which night.
Coaches Training: Starting in 2016 all coaches are required to complete a coaches training. This includes an in-person class and online courses. At a minimum, coaches are required to complete 2 hours of training time. Head coaches have much more. We want to thank the many coaches that have taken the time to complete this training! We currently have 21 coaches level 1 certified, 26 coaches level 2 certified and one coach level 5 certified (Joel Lubovich).
Upcoming Events Aug 20 Sep 16-18 Oct 15 Oct 29 Nov 5-6 Nov 19-20
SE Area Softball Tournament Sioux Falls Fall Classic (Bocce/Softball) Rapid City SE Area Traditional Bowling Tournament Sioux Falls SE Area Unified Bowling Tournament Mitchell State Traditional Bowling Tournament Aberdeen State Unified Bowling Tournament Sioux Falls
Where will the games be played? Basketball: Summer Games: Fall Classic: 2016 Mitchell 2016 Spearfish 2016 Rapid City 2017 Mitchell 2017 Brookings 2017 Mitchell 2018 Mitchell 2018 Spearfish 2018 Mitchell 2019 Pierre 2019 Brookings 2019 Rapid City 2020 Mitchell 2020 Spearfish 2020 Mitchell 2021 Pierre 2021 Up for Bid 2021 Rapid City
Let Us Know!
Athletes/Coaches/Volunteers Keep us updated if you have a new address, phone#, email. Please email updates to [email protected]
1|Page
Sioux Falls Fireworks Committee:
SOSD 2015 Award Winners
Colleen Moran, Chair Chad Hellenga, Vice Chair Elaine Hoover, Secretary Misty Farabee, Treasurer Diana Schuller Justin Haper Shelly Miller Emily Loos Caitlin Borges
SOSD 2015 Family of the Year – The Mork Family. The Southeast Area has been blessed with the dedication of a family that has been actively volunteering since 2007. The Mork’s boast a volunteer base of 36 strong and are comprised of 7 families plus momma Bev: Sue and Dave Houska, Mary & Kurt Lunstra, Gary & Melissa Mork, Kenny & Dianne Mork, Tom Mork, Michelle & Scott Solberg and Barb Sandoval, Bo Albers & children. Many of these folks have taken on key leadership roles at SE Area events, including aquatics, athletics, softball and bowling events. Collectively, they have volunteered 1,500 hours over the past 9 years. Congratulations to the Family Mork!
Committee members are elected for a 3-year term. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please contact Colleen Moran at [email protected] or speak with any of the committee members. HelpLine: Spirit of Volunteerism Group Award Our Sioux Falls Fireworks Committee won this award for 2015! The award is given in celebration of a group of people who exemplify the true Spirit of Volunteerism! 2015 Sioux Falls Humanitarian Award Our Sports Director, Heather Leischner was a nominee for this prestigious award! The Sioux Falls Human Relations Commission annual Humanitarian Award. Nominees should demonstrate the spirit of humanitarianism by promoting positive interaction, acceptance, respect and appreciation of human diversity. Diversity includes such things as race, religion, sexual orientation, physical capabilities, socioeconomic status, national origin, and age.
Lyle Farrand Volunteer of the Year – Misty Farabee Misty has been involved with the Sioux Falls Fireworks for 19 years. In the early years, she coached softball, volleyball, track and bowling. She continues to assist with sports when needed. According to the Fireworks sports director, “Misty is a volunteer that I can count on at a moment’s notice.” More recently, Misty’s talents have been utilized in the areas of bookkeeping, money management, fundraising and athlete recruitment. As stated in her nomination, “Misty’s work has without question made the Fireworks a better delegation, thus making the experience for our athletes the best it can be. She is always giving of her time, even when she really doesn’t have it to give. Regardless of her role with the Fireworks, her goals are always the same…to serve our athletes.”
Our Website www.sosiouxfalls.org - a great resource for information on upcoming sports, practices and fundraisers.
2|Page
We have Spiritwear! Everyone be sure and thank Becky Brennan for taking on this project and doing such a fine job! We have short and long sleeved T-shirts and sweatshirts. It is great to see so many of you wearing it as you cheer for our athletes! Please email Becky if you are interested in buying Fireworks Spiritwear ([email protected]) or watch for the Spiritwear table at coming events.
Athlete: Jon Mallett Jon has been an athlete for many years, participating in Basketball, Soccer, Powerlifting, Track, Softball, and Bowling. Jon is well liked by everyone as he has a very calm and personable demeanor, and will talk to anyone. Jon was on the SOSF Committee last year and was instrumental in picking out our new duffle bags the athletes are getting at practices now. Jon is most proud of his involvement with the Polar Plunge the past six years. He loves to dress up, and his favorite was being Robin to Mike Twedt’s Batman. They made quite a pair. Thank you Jon for being an athlete and supporter of the Fireworks!!
Bags! Bags! Bags! Through a grant from the Legends for Kids we were able to get a duffle bag for each athlete. They will be handed out at practices until each athlete has one.
Alison List is the 2016 “Let Me Win” challenge winner raising $1,107.50 by herself! This is Alison’s third year in a row raising over $1,000 for Sioux Falls Fireworks!
Awesome Job Alison!!
Athlete: Spencer Collins – Torch Run Our very own Spencer Collins was chosen as an athlete representative to join the SD LETR Torch Run this year. Spencer ran in more than a dozen cities across South Dakota, ending at Opening Ceremonies at BHSU in Spearfish! Great Job Spencer!
Below are the 2015 average costs per athlete for each sport. Basketball (95) Spring Games (74) Softball (81) Traditional Bowling (56) Unified Bowling (86)
$77/athlete $36/athlete $118/athlete $125/athlete $41/athlete
The number in ( ) is the number of athletes that participated in the state event in 2015. Athletes do not pay to participate – these costs are covered through our fundraising events and donations.
3|Page
Fundraising $$ is very important! In 2015 we had the following fundraisers: Soup Supper $1,177 Polar Plunge $13,834 Golf Classic $26,134 St Patrick’s Day Buttons $1,967 Stampede/Chuck-a-Puck $2,491 Pigskin Madness $900 Strikes for SO (2014) $1,626 Totaling: $56,554 In addition, we rely on donations from many generous people in our delegation and our community. In 2015 we received $4,900 in donations. Some Employers offer grants or incentive programs for volunteerism benefitting a non-profit of your choice. Please take advantages of these program!
Fundraising Committee Andra & Larry Kallhoff, Co-Chairs Elaine Hoover, Secretary Meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. We usually meet at the Main library downtown.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join!
Volunteer Opportunities: The Sioux Falls Fireworks would not exist today without the time, energy, dedication, and commitment of our dedicated volunteers. We need more families, friends and community members to volunteer. The following positions are currently open. Traditional Bowling Volunteers: Volunteers need to ensure athletes remain in their lane, bowl when it is their turn, bowl in the correct lane and CHEER! Practices are once per week on Saturday late morning/early afternoon. Basketball Coaches: Volunteers with previous basketball coaching or playing experience to coach a team of 8-10 athletes once per week. Coaches are required to attend the Area and State tournaments. Basketball and Softball Unified Partners: Play on a basketball or softball team with the Special Olympics athletes. Unified partners are required to attend practice once per week and tournaments. Bocce Ball Volunteers: Assist athletes at practice to keep them on task and focused on the training. Fundraising Volunteers: Lead or assist with fund-raising events. There are a variety of opportunities. Logistics: Plan and organize meals and hotel rooms for out-of-town travel events.
We need volunteers to help with manning the moveups on the T boxes, need help selling tickets for the balloon ride, taking pictures, etc. Love to have you come and help. Collin Email Collin at: [email protected] for more information or to help with the event.
Recruitment: Promote Special Olympics within the Sioux Falls community to find new athletes and volunteers. Uniforms: Manage and organize athlete and volunteer uniforms. NOTE: please visit www.sosiouxfalls.org and select the "Volunteers" tab for a complete description of each open position. 4|Page
