Community Corner

Heroes of Groton Recreation's Special Olympic Program

A longtime volunteer and an athlete take home the Connecticut Special Olympics awards after years of devotion to the cause

 

Nine years ago, one of Maxine Pearcy’s coworkers asked if she could help out at an event.

It was the Special Olympics Regional Games, and Pearcy had no connection to it other than the co-worker’s request, but she went.

Find out what's happening in Grotonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I didn’t know anything about it, never heard anything about it, not having a family member with disabilities,” said Pearcy, who works at the Naval Branch Health Clinic in Groton. “But she got me down there, and the rest is history.”

This year, Pearcy, who has been volunteering ever since through Groton Recreation's Special Olypmic Program, received the Connecticut Special Olympics Unsung Hero Award, which recognizes a volunteer who does more than she’s asked with no expectation of reward.

Find out what's happening in Grotonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

An athlete also connected to the Groton program, Kathy Ledwidge, of Mystic, received the Spirit of Life Award from the state organization. The award recognizes an athlete who exemplifies the meaning of Special Olympics.

Ledwidge has been participating in the program more than 25 years, and won a Silver Medal in Greece at The World Games in 2011. 

“It was fun,” she said. “I love it.”

'Truly Invaluable'

Pearcy, of Stonington, works at the military treatment facility at the sub base, and often gathers others to volunteer at events. She and her husband moved to the area in 1993 after he was reassigned from the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Maine. The couple has a son, now 25.

Pearcy helps fundraise, coaches a sport every season, recruits other volunteers and helps with paperwork.

“Every time I talk to her, she says to me, ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’” said Eileen Cicchese, local coordinator for Groton Special Olympics and a program supervisor with the Groton Parks and Recreation Department.

“She truly is invaluable. I couldn’t even find a better person as a paid employee than Maxine.”

A Sport A Season

Ledwidge has also been devoted for years. She's competed in floor hockey, sailing, soccer, volleyball, swimming and track and field, among other sports. In 1995 and in 2011 she competed in sailing, and has been to the local, regional, state and world games.

“I’ve known Kathy for 23 years because I’ve been local coordinator for that long,” Cicchese said. “She does a sport a season. Kathy is a sweetheart. Her whole family is.”

Pearcy said the athletes give back to her and have become like family.

“The smiles on their faces, the hugs . . .you’ve really got to do it sometime,” she said. “I’ve learned how to sail. I’ve learned to do things I’ve never done. You learn as you go and you have fun with it.

"Just knowing that I can make somebody happy makes me happy.”

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here