Tomorrow afternoon will be the rare fifth Sunday afternoon practice in one calendar 📅 month for Coach Vickey and our Special Olympics Basketball 🏀 program. Technically, it could happen up to four times a year, but it is happening for sure in August.

When we say our goodbyes 👋 shortly after 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoons, we head in our separate directions but still try and show support for each others efforts when time allows for it.

One night this week, Vickey spent hours with a panel of judges as she prepared for the AG Fair.

The photos 📸 above are from Wednesday at the Fair as a large number of members of our group gathered in celebration at the event.

In her own words :

Over 45 people—-athletes, unified partners, parents, grandparents, family members, caregivers—-showed up this afternoon to walk with Carroll County Special Olympics in the opening parade for the Carroll County Agricultural Fair.  What a blessing!  There was no way to get a good picture that showed every face of such a big group as we lined up, but Samantha Lark-Smith took this one and then I dissected it a little. 

     I appreciate each and every one of you, and we ALL really appreciate the Fair, including CCSO, in this parade every year alongside ROTC, the band, the cheerleaders, the royal court, and FFA.  Myra Leonard makes it a point each year to make sure we know we are invited!

Fast forward to this morning 🌄 and it was once again off to the races 🏁

Vickey Ritchie is on a mission, and it runs parallel with my own. It feels like a blessing 🙌 that the two overlap with each other, every now and then !

October 2nd – Little Feet

October 10th – Boo Ridge 5K

Two big days on the horizon, but rest assured, Coach won’t have a great deal of downtime between now and then.

First things First, I think this Rooster 🐓 would fit in nicely with our four Big Foot creatures that stay at our place in Laurel Fork.

A great deal of time and care went into creating this display !

Just had to sneak into the ” Judges Chamber ” for a quick look see 👀.

A local fair is such a large part of Americana, and this week should be a fun one here on The Hill…..

Thank you to Vickey Ritchie for the invite for Lin, but that is a part of Vickey being Vickey.

One of the best lines about the dedication level of Vickey came from her longtime friend and neighbor, Brandi Cochran Mitchell.

” Everything that Vickey does is the biggest thing that she does.”

One day, after celebrating her 65th birthday 🎂, Vickey Ritchie was back in the Gymnasium at Hillsville  Elementary School, acting like, well, acting like a dinosaur 🦕.

Today was our fourth straight Sunday together, and each week, the folks joining us are different. Different in numbers and in personality with our mission being to make sure that whoever shows up feels like they are part of something special.

Today, the number of participants was 22, same as last time, just a different 22. We celebrated two birthdays, and I truly believe that the energy was as high as any that I’ve heard on a non-Classic Sunday afternoon.

I consider it an honor 🎖 to be a wingman to such an incredible person who is also trying hard to do God’s work!

Thank you, Samantha, for your efforts in framing the day !