Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Local law enforcement officers, from left, Craig Rekoske, Jeff Buettner and Kyle Betzner ride along Main Street in Shawano on Thursday, the first leg of a 54-mile torch run to benefit Special Olympics.
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Kyle Betzner, with the Pulaski Police Department, airs up a tire on a colleague’s bicycle Thursday morning outside the Shawano County Jail prior to the annual torch run from Shawano to Waupaca.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the state converged on Stevens Point on Thursday for the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics Wisconsin State Summer Games.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run began in 1981 as a means to raise funds and awareness for the Special Olympics and educate the community about the gifts, talents, and abilities of people with intellectual disabilities.
More than 30 communities in Wisconsin coordinated torch runs this year, and Shawano was among them. A small but determined local delegation pumped up the tires on their bicycles Thursday morning and set out on state Highway 22 for a 54-mile ride to Waupaca, where officers and Special Olympians took part in a cookout before continuing to Stevens Point.
Craig Rekoske from the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department was the first to arrive Thursday for the local ride. Rekoske has participated in the local torch run for eight of the last nine years, but the missed year was for a good reason — it conflicted with his wedding plans.
Rekoske participates each year in recognition of two sisters who participate in Special Olympics.
“They’re competing athletes in various sports from basketball to swimming. I have a sister who is competing in state track,” Rekoske said. “I’ve volunteered with Special Olympics and other things involving cognitive disabilities since I was young, and I decided to continue riding bike and fundraising up here.”
Police officers are expected to maintain a certain level of fitness, but participating in the torch run by bicycle requires a little more discipline, Rekoske said.
“A lot of our fitness regimen doesn’t have to do much with bikes. It has to do with how you hold yourself,” Rekoske said. “It does take a little more to get on a bike and ride for an extended period of time. I’ve competed in other bike races, as well.”
Kyle Betzner drove from Pulaski to Shawano to participate in the torch run. Betzner said he enjoys supporting the Special Olympics.
“Everything goes to a better cause, and I enjoy biking, so that’s another plus,” Betzner said, “but helping the Special Olympics athletes is my main motivation.”
Also participating in the local torch run were Jesse Sperberg and Paige Lehman from the sheriff’s department and Jeff Buettner with the Stockbridge-Munsee Police Department.
In Wisconsin, the Law Enforcement Torch Run has raised more than $30 million since 1986. Every year, nearly 1,000 volunteers representing 170 state law enforcement agencies throughout the state participate in the event.
DID YOU KNOW?
The law enforcement torch run for Special Olympics is the movement’s largest grassroots fundraiser. Officers and athletes run the Flame of Hope to the opening ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions, state and national games. Annually, more than 85,000 officers participate in the torch run throughout 46 nations, 12 Canadian provinces and 50 U.S. states, raising more than $51 million for local Special Olympics programs in 2014 and over $560 million since its inception in 1981.
Source: Special Olympics