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Jerry Wade
Sheri Bishop
Bob Grabowski
Jerry Wade
Competing For His Community
In June 1997, Olympians gathered at U.C. Berkeley for the California State Special
Olympics. The competition was preceded by a parade, and then a lone athlete appeared,
carrying the Special Olympic Torch, to open the track and field State Championships.
Jerry Wade carried that torch. He was selected out of thousands of participants for
this honor because of his outstanding volunteer and fundraising efforts for Mendocino-Lake
Special Olympics.
Jerry’s dedication and support of Special Olympics is an inspiration. The organization
depends solely on funds raised locally to meet its needs. Jerry wanted to contribute,
so he wrote a letter to solicit donations to help send the athletes to the state
games. Armed with his letter and raffle tickets, Jerry went to practically all the
businesses in town to raise funds. Jerry also designed and produced the team T- shirts
for the Lake County Special Olympics Road Runners. A plaque hanging on the
living room wall of Jerry’s home in Clearlake reads: Volunteer of the month presented
to Jerry Wade for tireless enthusiasm, dedication and hard work. Thank you! From
Mendo-Lake Special Olympics.
Jerry has been competing in Special Olympic games for 17 years. He competes in
softball, track and field, and bowling. " If you want to win at softball, you
have to train hard...train hard until you are tired. But with hard work and dedication
you go. To compete in track, your have to learn how to run on a rubber track. You
have to learn how to do the turns. There is a lot of work to do the curves. You have
to figure out in your head how to maneuver the curves. Special Olympic bowling starts
in October. We practice every Saturday. The top bowlers go to the state games. I
went to L.A. the year before. I got to ride an airplane to L.A. I have had a lot
of good times. You meet friends from all over. We stayed in the dorms at U.C. Berkeley."
Over the years, Jerry has won many medals and ribbons in the categories in which
he competes. "I’m proud of my Olympic work. Now I am interested in getting more
kids involved. I want to spread the word. I will answer any questions that anyone
may have."
People First of Ukiah, a self-advocacy organization, invited Jerry to come
to their meeting to speak about his experience in Special Olympics. Jerry concluded
his presentation saying, "I won the medals; I’m proud of them, and I’m going
to be a coach. I’m going to be in it all my life until I retire."
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Sheri Bishop
Self-Advocacy Leader
Self-advocacy, self-determination and community contribution are not just words for
Sheri Bishop. Her accomplishments are many. Sheri is an active member of People First
of Eureka and is past president and secretary of that organization. "I enjoy
People First. I have a chance to lead people, and, by going to self-advocacy conferences
in Sacramento and Redding, I get to meet new people."
Sheri was born in Crescent City in 1952. When she was four years old, she and her
family moved to Eureka. She now lives in a group home in that city. "It’s a
nice place, and nice care providers. I’ve lived there for a few years. I love to
be independent. I take the transit, do my own shopping for personal stuff, and spend
time with my boyfriend and his brother. We go to the Bayshore Mall together, go out
for coffee, and visit at each other’s homes. I’ve known them for years."
Although Sheri travels a lot around town, she especially enjoys traveling to distant
locations. She has traveled extensively in California and has been to Hawaii and
Europe. She visited her great aunt and uncle in Switzerland. They traveled to many
countries, with the highlight of that trip being a visit to the location of The
Sound of Music.
Music is a big part of Sheri’s life. She has sung in Christmas shows and, "I
started piano lessons when I was ten years old. Melba Allen was the best teacher.
She was my favorite teacher in the whole world." Sheri plays keyboard with musicians
from her home. The group plans to do a concert at People First and eventually hopes
to travel to the East Coast for concerts.
Sheri’s community contributions are not limited to music. She volunteers at Hospice
one day a week and is interested in doing volunteer work at the library. "I
like to do things that improve my mind," states Sheri. "I take math at
the adult school and will be taking computer and swimming at the College of the Redwoods.
I have a computer at home and work on a phonics program." In addition to her
volunteer and academic work, Sheri is a lead trainer with Area I Board and RCRC.
They have produced a program that introduces the concept of Person Centered Planning.
The training skit, It’s My Meeting, has been presented to People First Chapters
and Adult Day Programs throughout the region. Sheri takes the audience through a
series of IPP meeting scenarios and guides them towards an understanding of the values
of Person Centered Planning. Sheri is now working with the other trainers to develop
another skit entitled, My Life/My Way. This skit will provide trainees with
a tool for taking a leadership role in their own Person Centered Planning. "I
like the chance to do the Its My Meeting skit. I get to visit my old town,
Crescent City, meet people, and help them learn about their IPPs."
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Bob Grabowski
Bob Grabowski has been working at Staples since it opened. He works five days a week,
six hours a day, keeping Staples clean and trash free.
"I really like working here. I’ve got a lot of friends here, and I really enjoy
it. I like all the bosses. Kevin’s my boss. I’m doing really well here, and I like
learning new things."
But the thing that Bob likes best about working at Staples is "being independent."
He comes to and from work on the bus, wears a uniform and name badge, and has a regular
weekly work routine for which he is responsible.
"Bob is working out well," said Staples General Manager, Kevin Hergenrader.
"He has to meet the same standards our other employees must meet, and we don’t
have to make any concessions.
Bob has his daily and weekly work schedule written out in picture form. There are
also drawings of clocks on his schedule that Bob compares to his own wrist watch
so he knows how long he has to do each job. Bob has his own supply closet he keeps
locked and stocked. There are pictures on all the cleaning supplies to identify them
more easily, and he knows if he’s running out of something whom to ask to restock
the closet.
"I help Bob out," Kevin commented, "and he helps me out. It’s a two-way
street."
–Article excerpted from Ukiah Daily Journal
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