Saturday, March 6th – Sunday, March 7th
Too often, because of negative attitudes and low expectations, people with intellectual disabilities (ID) don’t get an opportunity to show what they can do. Special Olympics has an approach—Unified Leadership—that overcomes this barrier. Building from sport, Unified Leadership teaches leaders of all abilities to value and learn from each other and create environments where people with ID succeed in meaningful roles. Special Olympics’ leadership work with athletes starts through sport—teaching life skills such as discipline and teamwork. This is built on through athlete leadership development, and opportunities in health, schools, and youth programming. We are thrilled to welcome you to our Leadership weekend. Whether you have attended many trainings or this is your first we are excited that you are considering attending. We are also excited to be offering these courses to not just Special Olympics Maryland athletes but to individuals outside of Special Olympics Maryland as well.
Saturday, March 6th Courses
Keynote with Carol A. Beatty
Saturday, March 6th | 8:30am-9:00am
Key Note with Carol A. Beatty, Secretary of Disabilities for the State of Maryland.
Photography Basics with Marleen Van den Neste (Part 1)
Saturday, March 6th | 9:00am-10:00am
Learn the basic skills such as angles, perspective, lighting, and other tips to make your photography better. Can be applied to standard cameras and camera phones.
This is Athlete Leadership (in Spanish) with David Godoy
Saturday, March 6th | 9:15am-10:15am
For those not familiar with Athlete Leadership and all if can offer in Special Olympics please join Athlete Leader David Goody as he introduces you to the Athlete Leadership Program. Explore the different ways you can help lead and the organization. This course is in Spanish as part of our outreach to the Spanish speaking community.
Photography Basics with Marleen Van den Neste (Part 2)
Saturday, March 6th | 10:15am-11:15am
Learn the basic skills such as angles, perspective, lighting, and other tips to make your photography better. Can be applied to standard cameras and camera phones.
Public Speaking & Speech Writing with Debbie Credito
Saturday, March 6th | 10:30am-2:15pm
Learn how to create a speech using your own personal story. Provide the tools to seek speaking engagements, write a speech, focus your speech on a specific audience, then present a 1-5 minute speech.
Videography Basics: Digital Cameras with Adam Hays (Part 1)
Saturday, March 6th | 11:30am-12:30pm
Join Special Olympics Athlete leader Adam Hays as he takes you through the basics of how to use a consumer video camera. Adam will walk you through some of the basic functions of the video camera and talk about proper use.
Videography Basics: Smart Phones with Adam Hays (Part 2)
Saturday, March 6th | 1:00pm-2:00pm
Join Special Olympics Athlete leader Adam Hays as he takes you through the basics of how to use a consumer video camera. Adam will walk you through some of the basic functions of the video camera and talk about proper use.
Advocating with Medical Professionals (Part 1) with Ande Kolp
Saturday, March 6th | 2:15pm-3:15pm
Join Executive Director of the Arc Maryland Ande Kolp as she presents the first of two sessions on how to advocate for yourself with medical professionals and how to be sure your voice is heard when it comes to decisions that affect your health and body.
Using PowerPoint and Google Slides with Nick Logan
Saturday, March 6th | 2:30pm-4:30pm
The training is designed primarily to teach athletes how to utilize presentation software to develop their own PowerPoint/Google Slides presentations. There are many uses for athletes to utilize presentation software such as a non-verbal Global Messenger, a different avenue for current Global Messengers to get their word across, for presentations during workshops, etc.
Advocating with Medical Professionals (Part 2) with Ande Kolp
Saturday, March 6th | 3:30pm-4:30pm
Join Executive Director of the Arc Maryland Ande Kolp as she presents the first of two sessions on how to advocate for yourself with medical professionals and how to be sure your voice is heard when it comes to decisions that affect your health and body.
Sunday, March 7th Courses
Getting the Most Out of Social Media with Madison Mangum
Sunday, March 7th | 9:00am-10:30am
Join Special Olympics Maryland staff Maddi Mangum, Director of Communications as she goes over some of the basics about Facebook and Instagram. Tips and tricks to get the most out of your social media experience.
Talking to the Media/Preparing for Interviews with Kira Northrop
Sunday, March 7th | 11:00am-12:30pm
Learn how to represent yourself in a media interview. Whether it's television, radio, print, or other sources of sharing news, it always important to be prepared. Join Kira Northrop, Director of Media for Special Olympics Maryland will teach how to prepare for each type of media differently and how to shine when it's your time.
Health Messenger Round Table for Special Olympics Athletes
Sunday, March 7th | 1:00pm-2:00pm
Join athletes who are Health Messengers from Maryland and Illinois in an athlete round table to discuss best practices and share successes. Topics of focus will be fitness and motivation and emotional wellness and stress management.
Healthy Athletes: Rethink Your Drink
Sunday, March 7th | 2:15pm-3:15pm
Join Special Olympics Health Messengers from Maryland and Illinois as they share healthy drink alternatives to replace sugary drinks. Learn why proper hydration is important and tips on increasing your water intake. Participate along with presenters as they create these drinks in front of your eyes. The hour will conclude with a dynamic stretching session.
Healthy Athletes: Healthy Snacks
Sunday, March 7th | 3:30pm-4:30pm
Join Special Olympics Health Messengers from Maryland and Illinois as they share healthy snack ideas. Learn about why serving sizes and nutrition labels are important. Follow along as presenters create these snacks right on camera.
Athlete Leadership Weekend Interest Form
Please complete the following 3-page interest form to begin your registration process for our Athlete Leadership Weekend. Once you have completed your form you will receive an email containing Zoom registration links to each of the courses you have selected. You MUST register through the Zoom links in order to attend the courses. If you did not receive a confirmation email with the links, please send an email to somdcomm@gmail.com and we will help you out!
This project was supported, in part by grant number CFDA 93.960, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.
