The 2010 Kansas Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics is underway! The Special Olympics Torch, or the Flame of Hope, has passed through many Kansas communities on its way to the 40th Annual Special Olympics Kansas Summer Games in Wichita June 4-6. Special Olympics is an international, year-round program of sports training, education, and athletic competition for more than one million children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run is a series of statewide runs that travel throughout the state during a week-long journey, culminating in Wichita for the annual Special Olympics Kansas Summer Games. This year’s Torch Run began in all four corners of the state and ran from May 22 - June 4. Torchbearers relay the "Flame of Hope" as they travel to the Summer Games. The Law Enforcement Torch Run began in Wichita in 1981 with six runners, and has grown to an international program that involves thousands of law enforcement personnel raising millions of dollars annually to benefit Special Olympics programs in the United States and abroad. A special thanks goes to everyone who came come out and cheered on their local law enforcement officers as they passed through the streets of their communities carrying the Flame of Hope.
Multiple Kansas agencies from all levels of law enforcement have put in countless hours of preparation for the annual Torch Run. Preliminary numbers from Special Olympics Kansas indicate that several hundred law enforcement participants will have carried the torch over 1,000 miles across Kansas. The Flame was carried by runners, walkers, bicyclists, and horseback riders. Kansas Law enforcement officers volunteer hundreds of hours each year, and in 2009, raised more than $353,000 in support of Special Olympics Kansas programs. This remarkable feat was accomplished by holding numerous fundraisers, including the statewide torch run, special events (i.e. Polar Plunge, truck convoy), sponsorships, and donations.
The fundraising goal for the 2010 Kansas Law Enforcement Torch Run is $385,000.00. That goal appears within reach. Nationally, officers raised $35 million in 2009, making the Law Enforcement Torch Run the Special Olympics’ largest grass-roots fundraiser and public relations vehicle.
Please join me in recognizing the fine efforts of the many men and women in Kansas law enforcement for their efforts in supporting, and touching the lives of over 5,580 Kansas Special Olympic athletes who train and compete year-round in 22 various sporting events. Through their efforts and the partnership with Special Olympics Kansas, these athletes are given the opportunity to improve physical fitness, acquire new skills, develop lifelong friendships, and encourage widespread community understanding and acceptance.
I would also like to wish the best of luck to all athletes competing in the Special Olympics Kansas Summer Games this weekend in Wichita! Their spirit, enthusiasm, and sportsmanship is something many can learn a lesson from.
For more information on Special Olympics Kansas, go to: http://www.ksso.org/.
Do you have questions or suggestions? If so, please send them via e-mail to: KSHighwayPatrol@khp.ks.gov.
Colonel Ernest E. Garcia
Colonel Ernest E. Garcia
About the Kansas Highway Patrol
- KS Highway Patrol
- Since 1937, Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers have offered Service, Courtesy, and Protection to the residents of the Sunflower State and to its millions of yearly visitors. More than 800 dedicated men and women are proud to serve the citizens of Kansas as members of the Patrol. They work hard and strive for excellence in public safety and traffic safety.