An incredible opportunity for us

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September 4, 2010

Anonymous Dalton Daily Citizen The Dalton Daily Citizen Sat Sep 04, 2010, 10:27 PM EDT

DALTON — The Dalton area got a big economic win this week that we hope — with all apologies to Humphrey Bogart — will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

We also hope that this event is one that galvanizes the community in terms of local support and volunteers to make it a first class experience for the participants and their families when they are here.

On Wednesday, officials from Special Olympics Georgia and the city of Dalton announced that Dalton will host the 2011 state games Nov. 4-6 and also the 2012 and 2013 games.

“This is the first time we’ve come to Dalton, but we have had our eyes on Dalton for several years, and we are very excited to be coming here,” Georgia Milton-Sheats, CEO of Special Olympics Georgia, said during the announcement.

To state the obvious, this is a big deal for Dalton.

No, scratch that, this is a very big deal for Dalton.

Let’s just start with the numbers.

The state games are expected to bring 1,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities from age 8 and up to Dalton. They will compete in sports such as bocce ball, golf, softball, running and bicycling.

That number doesn’t include the family members and friends who come to these events to cheer the competitors on.

Officials estimate the event will have a direct economic impact on the city of $900,000 annually and an overall impact of more than $1.5 million. Multiply that by three and we are looking at an estimated $4.5 million impact.

“We are bringing 1,500 athletes and their families. They will be staying in your hotels, eating in your restaurants, shopping in your stores and getting to see Dalton,” said Milton-Sheats.

Lisa Hughey, therapeutics recreation supervisor and Special Olympics local coordinator for the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department, said most of the events will be at Heritage Point Park but some will be at other facilities such as the Nob North Golf Course.

The beauty of Special Olympics is that it is much more than a sporting event. It is a community event that if we do it right will require the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and organizations.

Kerri Baldwin, senior development manager for Special Olympics Georgia, said the group is looking for sponsors to help defray the costs of the games as well as volunteers to help run them. There is already a good local base of support for the Special Olympics but we will need to add to it greatly to make the state games a success.

This is an incredible opportunity for Dalton to show that it can host a statewide event of this magnitude and hopefully draw other such events to the area. Organizations such as the Convention and Visitors Bureau are working hard to bring these events to Dalton but it is up to the entire community to welcome them and to give the participants and the event organizers reasons to want to come back.

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An incredible opportunity for us

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