Join us Friday, July 20 – Saturday, July 21 in Chicago, Illinois, as we celebrate this historical anniversary! Activities during this celebration will include a Unified Cup, Global Day of Inclusion, Eternal Flame ceremony, music concert, and the LETR Commemorative Run! Here are the flier and Save the Date to share with your teams.

This year I am doing it again on May 3rd because I love how Law Enforcement Torch Run supports Special Olympics. Also, I have been running 5 days a week to prepare for it. I like how Law Enforcement Torch Run helps with the Polar Plunge fundraisers. Polar Plunges are my favorite fundraiser for Special Olympics. My goal within the Law Enforcement Torch Run is to run in a Final Leg Torch Run for a USA Games or World Games and to attend a Law Enforcement Torch Run conference. I say all Law Enforcement Torch Run officers are heroes to us athletes because they take their time out of their busy schedules to help and support us.

The night Jim Balamaci died, an extraordinary super blue blood moon illuminated the sky. He snapped a photo from his view on top of the world in Alaska and texted it to his three siblings on the East Coast, remarking in awe of its splendor. 

His baby sister Caryn Balamaci choked up as she reread his final note, unable to complete her thought.

“It was his gift to see beauty in everything and share it. It touched all of us,” finished her husband, Nick Balamaci. “He was just very giving. He saw this thing of beauty and wanted to share it. That was the story of his life.” To his many friends worldwide and especially his Special Olympics and Law Enforcement Torch Run family, Special Olympics Alaska President and CEO Jim Balamaci was as bright and alluring as the super moon, with a gravitational pull that changed the tides for Special Olympics in Alaska and beyond.

Read more here!

Donations to support Balamaci’s last goal, to create a $1 million endowment to grow and sustain Special Olympics Alaska, can be made online.

Delaware’s Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics started in 1987 and like many Torch Run programs, has enjoyed remarkable growth and success.

Delaware’s LETR leadership team has always been the true strength of our program. In late 2015, we started to build a serious and heartfelt “Torch Run succession plan." Our State Director set a goal of October 2016 to complete the project and have our new leadership team in place. We came close to that goal, officially implementing our “2017 leadership and structure transition” in January 2017.

Director Greg Nolt of the Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement became our new Torch Run Director in 2017, and we successfully implemented a restructuring of our leadership team to include statewide chairpersons in 4 “pillars” – Fundraising, Volunteers, Logistics, and Public Relations. We considered creating by-laws but eventually decided upon “guiding principles” as our best solution.

Our final document includes no by-laws, has 2 mission statements – Special Olympics Delaware and Delaware Law Enforcement for Special Olympics – our Vision statement, as well as Purpose, Core Values, Structure, and most importantly to us, our Guiding Principles. The remaining documents include our LESO State committee structure, State Director and Chairperson responsibilities, and our Table of Organization.

The final product is one that suits us remarkably well. The entire document is 6 pages but is easily read and understood.

For more information, please feel free to contact:

Greg Nolt, LETR State Director

gregorydnolt@state.de.us

302-542-2104 (Cell)