Team Adams Update
January 2026
Many of you know Gina McInturff as "Peyton's mom". But what you might not know is that she has been working hard behind the scenes to put our newsletters together for the past several years! We appreciate her efforts to squeeze as much information into each newsletter as she could. Taking a bunch of articles and pictures and arranging them into a professional looking newsletter was no small task. Since we are moving to digital newsletters, Gina gets to "retire" from this role with us. However, don't worry, we'll find something else for her to do! When we have good volunteers, we like to keep 'em! THANK YOU, GINA!
Jill Stoner
Jill volunteers as our Public Relations Coordinator and she also works for Special Olympics PA as the Regional Administrative Manager for the Capital Area Region. CONTACT JILL IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ATHLETE REGISTRATION or HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ELIGIBILITY!
Linda Long
Linda serves as our Volunteer Coordinator. CONTACT LINDA IF YOU'D LIKE TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER or IF YOU'RE ALREADY A VOLUNTEER AND WOULD LIKE TO HELP OUT AT SPECIAL EVENTS SUCH AS OUR BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL OR GOLF CHALLENGE!
Our hearts are full due to the generosity from so many people who donated to us during the 2025 Giving Spree! We received $15,925 this year, which was nearly $3,000 more than last year! Running our program takes a lot of time, dedication, passion, and money. Fundraisers such as this help us to pay for uniforms, practice facilities, travel expenses, and sports equipment that allow us to provide year-round training and competition opportunities for over 100 athletes in 13 different sports. WE THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS! 💗
Congratulations and good luck to Coach Dylan Powell as he moves into the Head Basketball Coach position this year! Dylan has been involved with Special Olympics for a very long time as an assistant basketball coach, softball coach, and volleyball coach. In addition, this year he played on our Developmental Volleyball Team as a Unified Partner and helped them earn a gold medal at the Fall Fest State Competition at Villanova! When Dylan's not at Special Olympics, he's probably at home chasing his one year old daughter, Roselie, around the house or getting the nursery ready for Baby #2 arriving in a few weeks!
Join thousands of brave Polar Plungers for the coolest event of the winter on February 28! The Capital Area Polar Plunge at Gifford Pinchot State Park has something for everybody – food, music, dancing, and extremely cold water! Most importantly, every dollar raised helps support vital programming for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community.
Too chicken to plunge? You can still help by making a donation and sharing this information with businesses or organizations that might like to raise funds or plunge with us. Below are a few pictures from last year's Plunge. See? It doesn't look THAT bad, does it?!? 🥶
For more information, please contact Nelson Trout by emailing ntrout@specialolympicspa.org.
Holiday Party
Holiday Plant Sale
Our Athlete Leadership Team held a successful fundraiser selling poinsettias and Christmas cacti before the holidays. They sold 112 plants and also received $117 in donations, resulting in a total profit of $565! Thank you to everyone who bought or sold flowers!
New Oxford High School and Gettysburg High School have Unified Bocce Teams for the first time this year! High school students with intellectual disabilities play on a team alongside other students who do not have intellectual disabilities. They compete against other local high schools who have Unified Bocce Teams. The team is regarded just like every other interscholastic sports team at the school. They have a 10-11 week long season with after school practices a minimum of twice a week and a minimum of three competitions against other schools in the region. Team members wear uniforms with their school name and colors. There are regional championships with the opportunity to advance to state championships held in conjunction with PIAA state events. New Oxford and Gettysburg are in two different "leagues", so they will not play against each other.
Special Olympics Team Adams has one athlete, Aubrey Pace, who is competing on the New Oxford Team! The New Oxford team is being coached by Special Olympics Team York coach, Meghan Latshaw, who is also a teacher at New Oxford High School. Stop in and cheer them on at their remaining home games! Volunteer Dorothy Bollinger is planning to attend the NEW OXFORD match on Monday, January 12. If any athlete in the Hanover area would like to ride with Dorothy, please contact her at 717-640-1330. Volunteer Gerry Lohuis and athletes Vanena Lohuis and Katie Brown are planning to attend the GETTYSBURG match, also on January 12. If you decide to go, look for them and sit with them in the stands!
