Special Olympics Annual Award Dinner on March 26th

The Annual Awards Dinner to Benefit Special Olympics Connecticut Athletes and celebrate the organization’s “Inclusion Revolution” will take place on Thursday, March 26th. The event will be held at The Aqua Turf, 556 Mulberry Street in Plantsville. For tickets, to sponsor the event or to find out more, visit soct.org and click on the “Ways to Give” tab, email specialolympicsct@soct.org or call 203-230-1201. The Annual Awards Dinner is made possible through the generosity of the Bozzuto and Calvanese families.

Registration will begin and the silent auction will open at 5 p.m. The program will start at 6 p.m. Special guests will include Kevin Negandhi of ESPN - who will also receive an award, Renee DiNino of iHeart Radio Connecticut and Ryan Hanrahan of NBC and Telemundo Connecticut. The Keynote Speaker will be Loretta Claiborne, a Special Olympics Athlete, Chief Inspiration Officer for Special Olympics International and recipient of ESPN’s ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. This year’s awards and award recipients include:

Hall of Fame Awards

Community Leadership Award – Southern Connecticut State University of New Haven

Lew Perkins Coach Award – John (Jay) Dubinsky of Plantsville

Sheila Schmidt Award – Margo D’Amico of Cheshire

Bozzuto Family Award – The Baker Family of Cheshire

Susan Saint James Award – Kevin Negandhi of Bristol

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Award – Stephen Emblidge of Waterford

Eunice Murtha Award – Eugene Singer of North Haven

Outstanding Local Program Award

Special Olympics Trumbull – Joe and Nancy Dennin of Trumbull

Spirit of Life Awards

Alicia Rostkowski of New Britain

John Breda of Windsor Locks

Laura Ferraiolo of North Haven

Macconall “Mackie” Gray of Stafford Springs

Colin Gagne of Stafford

Eva Estell of Stafford Springs

Unsung Hero Awards

Clem Kasinska of Cheshire

Patricia McCormack of Shelton

Carol Flaim of Deep River

Sgt. Pete Howard of Monroe

Damian Frassinelli of Stafford Springs

About Special Olympics Connecticut

Special Olympics Connecticut provides year-round sports training and competitions for more than 13,000 athletes of all ages with intellectual disabilities and Unified Sports® partners - their teammates without disabilities. Through the joy of sport, the Special Olympics movement transforms lives and communities throughout the state and in 172 countries around the world by promoting good health and fitness and inspiring inclusion and respect for people of all abilities, on and off the playing field. (www.soct.org)

Partner Sponsors: Adams Hometown Markets/IGA Hometown Supermarkets, Dream Ride, Enterprise, ESPN, Eversource Energy, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, Law Enforcement Torch Run, NBC and Telemundo Connecticut, TD Bank, United Technologies and WWE.

Year-Round Suppliers: Adams Hometown Markets/IGA Hometown Supermarkets, Campus Customs, The Coca-Cola Company, Connecticut Portable Storage/PODS, Marcus Communications, State of Connecticut Judicial Branch Community Service and WORX.