The calendar 📅 has flipped over to Day 2 of 5 in the All Roads Lead to The Special Olympics Basketball 🏀 Classic !

Welcome 🙏 to Friday, the second day of the return to The Hill, Take #3.

Everything is geared up towards Sunday afternoon and the Special Olympics Basketball Classic 🏀 with two extra stops ✋ built in ahead of the 5:00 am Monday morning 🌄 flight ✈️ from TRI back to St George, Utah.

What is it about Vickey Ritchie that would lead someone to fly across the Country twice in order to help with one of her Main Events ? I have met a ton of people in my life but there’s just something about Vickey and her ability to do whatever is possible in hopes of everyone feeling included.

Simply put, she puts the Special in the Special Olympics !!!

I had to laugh because I counted up the number of the Lower 48 States that I will spend time in across these five days and the answer is NINE….

Today’s Morning 🌄 Brew is coming from the St George Regional Airport at a way too early time but here we are…

We have Mr DeHaven in Richmond with our Cavaliers so we hope to keep folks up to speed.#AD+ProudPapa

Both Kira Lawson and Alyssa Ervin have home 🏡 games tonight !

Howard Mayo and his Motovational Nugget for the Day :

Travis Osborne and his Bible Verse of the Day :

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The reason why I walked into SGU Airport at 3:30 is Coach Vickey and her Special Olympics Basketball 🏀 Classic on Sunday afternoon.

Confirmation of doing the right thing comes in the form of an upgrade to First Class for the flight ✈️ to Dallas – Fort Worth.

We will call 📞 this one : The one about 5 Days, 4 Nights 🌙, 3 Events, 2 minutes at our House 🏠 in Laurel Fork and 1 topic of Driven !

I still have to write ✍ both Howard Mayo and Anthony Barnes a story from last night so I will end with my Have a Blessed Day 🙌

It turns out that before we ever met, Vickey Ritchie and I attended the same Night to Shine ! Tonight Coach was back at it in Galax 💘

Coach Vickey Ritchie reports that a good number of athletes from Carroll County Special Olympics were privileged to participate in Night to Shine at The Rock, a local church in Galax, VA, along with many other members of the special-needs community. Volunteers from the community turned out to cheer as each king or queen came through the door, and then it was on to a fun night of dancing, karaoke, and food.

The church and many helpers work hard to make this an event that honors each attendee. Chief Mike Ayers and several members of the Galax Fire Department form an honor guard to escort Kings and Queens from the limo to the red carpet to go inside. The music plays from six till nine, and the dance floor is always full.

Proud to list Tim Tebow as my inspirational 🙌 guide, Proud to know Coach Vickey 💙

With one eye looking forward to The Classic on February 22nd, Vickey Ritchie takes us through our Big Day in Roanoke this past Sunday !!+

Sun Feb 8, as invited guests at the Area 8 Special Olympics Basketball Tournament at Roanoke College, Carroll County Special Olympics took 3 teams and played 6 games against opponents from Roanoke (Area 8), New River Valley (Area 9), and Marion (Area 10). The CCSO HotShots lost one (12-16) and won one (31-14, a scrimmage with teammates because the other team was a scratch), the CCSO SureShots lost two by slim margins (14-18 and 22-26) and the CCSO Cavaliers won two (17-14 and 36-24). Coach Vickey Ritchie reported that a large entourage of family members and caregivers accompanied the group and pitched in to help at every opportunity. “I’m fond of saying that we simply could not do all we do without all the helpers, and that was certainly true on Sunday” said Coach Ritchie, “We truly are ONE TEAM.”

Also, this was the coaching debut for two of our parents. Debi Rein coached the SureShots and Samantha Lark-Smith coached the HotShots.

The busy , busy stretch continues with Night to Shine, The Classic and three more College experiences !!!!

Going to close out the second week of Snow Out 2026 with kind words for two cornerstones of The Hill ! I just read that one of them had a great day in Roanoke and I’m hoping that the other celebrated with his Family 👪.

Tip of the Cap…

Vickey Ritchie took three teams of Special Olympics Basketball 🏀 up to Roanoke College and our hard working Athletic Director, Kevin DeHaven celebrated his Birthday 🎂.

We face so many challenges each and everyday. Our corner of the World 🌎 is a better place because of both Vickey Ritchie and Kevin DeHaven ♥.