Special Olympics Iowa Inducts Thirteen Individuals into Hall of Fame

Grimes, Iowa – Special Olympics Iowa inducted the 2023 class, 13 individuals, into the Special Olympics Iowa Hall of Fame on December 7^th.

The Hall of Fame class includes Joshua Dobbs (Ames), Amy Hickey (Dubuque), Charity Hodson (Des Moines), Rolla Lucas (Davenport), Bruce Barnett (Waterloo), Jane Bergendahl (Long Grove), Peg Koele (Hull), Trudy Messerschmidt (Minden), Naomi Lawler (Glenwood), Julie Brummer (Glenwood), Kathy King (Glenwood), Paula Zillmer (Overland Park, KS), and Martin Wright (Glenwood). The introduction ceremony took place at West48 Conference Center in West Des Moines. 

The mission of Special Olympics is to help persons with intellectual disabilities to participate as productive and respected members of the community. Hall of Fame inductees are individuals who have been involved with Special Olympics Iowa for more than 10 years, and continually strive to reach this goal by being leaders and innovators in the Special Olympics movement.

Dobbs has been involved with Special Olympics through the Arc of Story County for more than 20 years. He has participated in track and field, softball, swimming, basketball, volleyball, flag football, cheerleading, and bocce. He is also a global messenger, a team captain for the annual Iowa State Greek Week Polar Plunge.

Hickey first competed with Special Olympics when she was in junior high more than 30 years ago. Since then, she has participated in 11 sports at the state level, represented Iowa at the National Games in basketball in 1998 and golf in 2014, and was selected twice to compete for Team USA at the World Games, once in cycling and once in alpine skiing.

Hodson joined Special Olympics Iowa at the age of 8 years old and has served Special Olympics as an athlete, global messenger, health messenger, and former member of the Board of Directors. She has participated in track and field, bowling, softball, golf, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and cheerleading.

Lucas’ involvement with Special Olympics began when he was in high school. He has participated in bowling, golf, snowshoeing, alpine skiing, cycling, track and field, and basketball. He was one of the first formally trained global messengers in Iowa, and carried the torch for the first ever Special Olympics National Games, held in Ames in 2006.

Barnett has led the delegation from Waterloo Goodwill Industries for over 30 years. He has served as a coach, volunteer, starter for the Winter Games cross country skiing competition, northeast area swimming event director, and former sport training clinician. He has also coached team Iowa at the Special Olympics National Games in soccer and flag football.

Bergendahl first got involved with Special Olympics when she began teaching special education in 1977, and has been the east area co-director since 1982. As such, she has fulfilled many roles within the Special Olympics organization and has been responsible for much of the behind the scenes logistics that have ensured successful events in the east area.

Messerschmidt, Lawler, Brummer, King, Zillmer, and Wright make up the Special Olympics Iowa Southwest Area Management Team. As such, they have fulfilled roles as volunteers, coaches, and delegation managers, and have assisted in the organization of southwest area, west regional, and state events for more than 30 years.

About Special Olympics Iowa

Special Olympics Iowa provides high-quality training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in all ninety-nine counties of Iowa. Twenty-three Olympic-style sports are offered to more than 14,800 athletes and Unified partners year-round. Through Special Olympics’ athletic, health, school, and leadership programs, individuals with intellectual disabilities reach their full potential and experience inclusion in their communities every day. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Learn more at www.soiowa.org. 

For more information contact Megan Filipi at mfilipi@soiowa.org, or 563-260-1281