12/17/2025
I received the following email today. Little does Danielle and her team know but they are the ones deserving to be thanked! With out them, our special friends would be left out! With out them, there would be no sports for these amazing people! We sponsored an awards banquet because they first took a step to make our worlds more equal! Thank you for including and adapting! We will always support the inclusion! Keep building and let us know how we can help! God bless you, Danielle!
Dear Athletes, Families, Coaches, Volunteers, and Supporters,
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to High Desert Haulers for their incredible generosity in sponsoring our first-ever Special Olympics Banquet. Your support helped make the evening truly special and meaningful for everyone involved.
Thank you to all of our athletes, volunteer coaches, and families—this celebration was for you. We are also deeply grateful to everyone who donated clothing to the Shop the Closet event. Because of your kindness, many of our athletes were able to dress up, walk the red carpet, and feel confident as they were celebrated for their accomplishments.
The banquet was a celebration of everything we achieved in 2025, and it was an extraordinary year:
We grew from three Special Olympics teams in 2024 to six teams in 2025
60 athletes participated across our programs
20 volunteer coaches supported our teams
Volunteer coaches contributed over 1,000 hours through practices, regional meets, state games, fundraising, entering scores, sorting uniforms, and more
Our Special Olympics teams and programs include:
Powerlifting / Adapted Fitness Training (year-round)
Bowling (fall)
Basketball (winter)
Swimming, Track & Field, and Powerlifting Competition (spring)
Golf (summer)
Cycling coming in summer 2026
We also want to recognize Bobby Walker for his extensive fundraising efforts throughout the year—thank you for the time and dedication you’ve given to our athletes and programs.
It was wonderful to see everyone dressed up, walking the red carpet, and capturing memories together. This was our first banquet, and we are already looking forward to hosting it again next year.
We are excited to be back on the court and look forward to basketball practice tonight, Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Photos from the banquet are available here: [link]
All photos are free to download—please enjoy and share.
Thank you again for being part of such a successful and inspiring year. We couldn’t do this without you.
With gratitude,
--
Danielle Musser, M.S., CAPE
Adaptive and Inclusive Program Leader
Adapted Physical Education Specialist
Certified in the Swim Whispers Program Level 1 + 2
Pronouns: she/her/hers
970-765-0544
[email protected]
