Success Story

For every family with a family member who has intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics is a symbol of hope.  Jonathon Parkhurst is a Special Olympics athlete from Edmond.  As long as his parents could remember, he asked them, “Will I ever be a sports legend?”  After Jonathon represented Oklahoma as part of Team USA in the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, his mother said, “Thanks to Special Olympics he is experiencing that dream!  Special Olympics has literally given him the world.”  Jonathon has a fulltime job and has recently trained to become a Special Olympics Global Messenger.  Global Messengers are Special Olympics athletes who through public speaking help spread the message and vision of the movement as well as the benefits they have gained by participating in Special Olympics.