For the third consecutive year the Coral Gables Knights of Columbus administered the Bicycle Races at the Special Olympic Summer Games. While this service project is intended to help others, we always leave feeling that we received more than we gave.
This event marks one of the most special Saturday mornings of the year for Council #3274 members and their wives and children as we volunteer from 8:00am until 2:00pm for this most worthy cause at the Miami-Dade Community College Kendall Campus. Steven Klotz, Special Olympics Coordinator for Miami-Dade County had this say in an email inviting us to participate this year, "...the Knights did a fabulous job with the bicycling activities; so good that this year, we have had specific requests asking that we recruit you once more. Please tell us that you'll be back!”
As always, there were many highlights and special memories from the athletes competing to the best of their abilities and responding to our cheers, to our own children timing the heats and helping with registration activities. Yet one moment stands out. After one of the races one athlete walked up to our Deputy Grand Knight (who had helped her to the starting line moments earlier), put her head on his waist and gave him a big hug, then turned to the rest of us and with a big smile and loudly proclaimed, “He’s my friend!”. Our DGK is 6’5”, but that little girl just melted him – and the rest of us. Now when people ask us why we serve, we can answer “to make friends”.
CATEGORY:
□ CHURCH
■ FAMILY
■ COMMUNITY
■ YOUTH
□ COUNCIL
Project Title: Special Olympics Summer Games in Dade & Monroe Counties
Date Project Conducted: March 8, 2003
Chairman’s Name: Jose G. Matute
Legal Comments are property of their posters, all the rest © 2003 by KofC Coral Gables Council #3274 
Special Olympics Summer Games, 3/8/2003
