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The Special Olympics Northern California Volunteer of the
Year Program recognizes and acknowledges those volunteers who
rise above the rest and go beyond the call of duty for our
Special Olympics athletes.
We are very proud to announce the winners of the 2008 Volunteer
of the Year Awards in the following categories:
| Robin Dewey |
Northeast Region |
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| The Van Looy Family |
East Bay Region |
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| Mike Petrinovich |
Northeast Region |
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| Renee Murray |
East Bay Region |
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| Sierra Summit Mountain Resort |
Central Valley Region |
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Special Olympics Northern California appreciates the
efforts of all our volunteers. These volunteers were selected
because of their commitment to our athletes and their dedication
to Special Olympics. We define a Volunteer of the Year as someone
who gives tirelessly of themselves, who is willing to perform
any task needed, often without being asked, and who is an inspiration
to others. The Volunteer of the Year is a person who gives
100% of themselves for the benefit of our Special Olympics
athletes.
The Volunteers of the Year will be invited as our guests to
the Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games the weekend
of June 25, 2010 and recognized at the Opening Ceremonies taking
place on Friday evening.
On behalf of the athletes, coaches, families, staff, and other
volunteers we thank the 2009 Volunteers of the Year for their
contributions to Special Olympics Northern California.
Meet our Volunteers of the Year below!
When Robin Dewey moved to Davis, local athletes  were primarily involved in Special Olympics basketball. Taking over as head of Yolo County Special Olympics in 2002, the program quickly grew under Robin’s guidance. The number of sports available for Yolo County athletes grew from one to seven over the course of several years. Robin recruited excellent coaches who had an expertise in their respective sports and a passion for working with the athletes.
Despite working full-time for UC Berkeley, Robin devotes an enormous amount of her free time to Special Olympics. She works with the City of Davis, Davis Joint Unified School District and other organizations to provide venues for practice. She makes presentations to organizations such as Rotary to raise awareness for the Special Olympics program in Davis. She also has worked to raise awareness in the community, so that all those eligible have the opportunity to participate.
Due to Robin’s hard work, the number of athletes participating in Yolo County grew to more than 100 and there are approximately 50 coaches and volunteers helping with the various sports. Robin attends many of the practices and tournaments even if her son (an accomplished Special Olympic athlete himself) is not present. Recently, Robin organized a nutrition-training workshop for the athletes, led by the world-renowned nutritionist, Liz Applegate. She is clearly concerned with enhancing the lives of the athletes, both on and off the field.
As another example, Robin has worked with the Best Buddies organization to help coordinate buddies for interested athletes. Robin is truly the backbone of the Yolo County Special Olympics program and is highly deserving of this honor to receive the 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award for Sports.
Compassionate, kind, loyal and enthusiastic are just a few of the words that  describe Patty and Geert Looy. As a family, they participate fully in every capacity of Special Olympics. They are proud parents of a Special Olympics Athlete and coaches of the Tri Valley Rockets Team in Pleasanton. Even though their passion for the organization is seeded by the impact that Special Olympics has had for their son and family, they have gone above and beyond in terms of their volunteerism. Both Patty and Geert have played a pivotal role in executing the Track and Field, Volleyball and Basketball Regional games over the past five years at Amador Valley High School. Their children have been scorekeepers and track timers, and they have done everything from setting up the facilities to handing out lunches.
There is a certain energy and positivity that exudes from this family and those who work with them tap into this rather quickly. At any of the Amador events you can hear the day-of volunteers or seasoned Special Olympics Staff inquiring about who these wonderful people are. Their impact might best be measured by listening to all of the laughter that seems to surround them when they are working at the events, or simply because they are often the first ones to show up to help and the last to leave.
Outside of our sporting events the Van Looy’s also inspire volunteerism. In 2009 Patty Van Looy spoke at our coach appreciation dinner about the impact the program has had on their family’s lives. Her poise and the sincerity of hr family’s story was truly an inspiration to our coaches and for volunteers in the Special Olympics community. When she is not volunteering for Special Olympics, Patty works for the Pleasanton Unified School District and works to get facilities booked year- round for local trainings and competitions.
The Van Looy’s have a special mix of candor and humor that is truly unique. Their honesty, postivie attitude and unwavering commitment to Special Olympics are the qualities that have earned the award for 2009 Volunteer Family of the Year.
Mike Petrinovich was a volunteer coach for the Orange Grove Dragons for more than five years. During the time he was coaching, Mike was diagnosed with cancer. He required a considerable amount of surgery and treatment over several years. Even with everything he was going through, Mike continued to attend practices and actively coach. He would get out on the floor during basketball or floor hockey practices to demonstrate how do something, never letting on to the athletes that he might not really feel up to it. He came to practice with his arm and shoulder bound and bandaged, and didn’t even wince when an athlete got excited and gave him a high five.
If asked how he was doing, Mike always said he was fine. Nothing would prevent him from being there to coach and encourage the athletes, and to share their joy and their successes. Mike exemplified real courage as he went above and beyond by continuing to coach despite his illness. By September 2009, the cancer had reached the point where Mike could no longer coach. He was so disappointed to miss out on what and how our athletes were doing.
Sadly, Mike passed away in February of this year. Mike will be awarded posthumously, and the award for Volunteer Coach of the Year will be presented to his widow, Ginny, at the 2010 Summer Games at UC Davis on Friday, June 25 during Opening Ceremonies.
Renee Murray has been an invaluable member of our development team for  more than four years. It is hard to put into words how much time, effort, energy, creativity and incredible enthusiasm she has put in to help make our special events a success.
For both the 2009 and 2010 Celebrity Winterfest events, Renee put in as many hours as a full time staff member. She helped us get organized, secured auction items, managed computer work, packed cards and ran errands. During the event, she often worked 8am-10pm for the week, helping with registration logistics and auction organization, taking a leadership role with our volunteers and really, overall, acting as our go-to care volunteer. We could not have had as successful an event without her. Winterfest is just one of many special events she volunteers so much time. If she is not able to come into the office, she puts in time walking from business to business securing auction items and spreading the word about Special Olympics.
Having a brother with developmental disabilities, Renee’s love of Special Olympics and our athletes goes deep. Watching her work with our athletes, it is clear how much she cares about Special Olympics and the athletes, and how much her being with us means to her. Believe it or not, her husband’s birthday present to her was cancelling their pre-planned trip so that she could attend Summer Games. Renee is an amazing individual and will do absolutely anything needed to get things done. All of the staff members in the Pleasant Hill Office know how hard Renee works and how much time she puts into Special Olympics projects. She is completely deserving of the award for the 2009 Volunteer (Development) of the Year.
Sierra Summit Mountain Resort has been Fresno County Special Olympics partner for our annual local and regional Winter Games program (training and  competition) since the mid 1980s. Fresno’s winter program started with two athletes and two coaches and has grown to over 150 athletes and 100 coaches.
We are so proud and honored that our local program has continued despite the economic challenges that the entire country (and Special Olympics) have recently faced. It is because of the dedication of Sierra Summit and their generous financial support (via donation of facilities, equipment and lift tickets) that our program not only continues but is thriving and growing. Just this winter season Sierra Summit provided a total of approximately 450 adult lift tickets, 130 sets of skis and snowboard equipment, their mountain and race courses and employee support. Multiply this amount by 20 years and you will see that this support cannot be equaled anywhere, not only in California but (I am sure) in the entire world.
But Sierra Summit is much more than a financial donor or sport facility for Special Olympics. Sierra Summit supports our athletes with enthusiasm, acceptance, respect and awe. Thanks to Sierra Summit for providing our team with first class training and competition opportunities; we were proud to have 5 Fresno athletes compete in the World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho last year. Sierra Summit’s financial contribution is significant however it is their love for our athletes and belief in our program that is their greatest contribution. Sierra Summit is the complete package. Sierra Summit Mountain Resort has proudly earned the award for the 2009 Volunteer Group of the Year.
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