Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Waikato News

Boost for Special Olympics Te Awamutu team

By Colin Thorsen
Te Awamutu Courier·
20 Aug, 2019 03:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

From left: Special Olympics Te Awamutu head coach Shelley Blair, Annelies Van der Wee, Robert Van der Wee, Unity Collins, Ross Collins, Sarah-Jane Hudson, Ken and Heather Hagan.

From left: Special Olympics Te Awamutu head coach Shelley Blair, Annelies Van der Wee, Robert Van der Wee, Unity Collins, Ross Collins, Sarah-Jane Hudson, Ken and Heather Hagan.

Christmas came early for the Special Olympics Te Awamutu team heading to the Howick Pakuranga complex for a swim meet this month.

Special Olympics Te Awamutu received a huge donation from LJ Hooker, supplemented by Ken and Heather Hagan — a Toyota Hi Ace 12 seater van.

The club is still growing, so travelling together as team has become challenging for some time. The club did not have its own van and had been able to borrow one from Enrich+ and the Bible Chapel.

"After initially being approached by Ross Collins regarding raising funds, we decided to purchase the van outright from some surplus funds from LJ Hooker Home Expo and Heather and myself," said Ken Hagan.

"The Special Olympics Te Awamutu club has the van, fully equipped with luggage space at the rear and air-conditioning etc, at their complete disposal as they require.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I know that the team at LJ Hooker are excited and proud to be able support Special Olympics Te Awamutu and look forward to following their progress."

Special Olympics Te Awamutu chairperson Shelley Blair and swimmer Robert van der Wee with some of the sporting memorabilia for the fundraising auction held in 2012.
Special Olympics Te Awamutu chairperson Shelley Blair and swimmer Robert van der Wee with some of the sporting memorabilia for the fundraising auction held in 2012.

Ken said after attending Special Olympics Te Awamutu's fundraising events, he and his wife have always come away feeling humbled by the support and time that others give in many different ways.

"That coupled with the marvellous attitude of the athletes and the sheer hard work they put in, it wasn't a hard decision to make to get in behind them."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The trip to the swim meet in Auckland will be the first time the van will be seen travelling sign-written.

"I believe it will be making a 'statement' that LJ Hooker has made it happen," Special Olympics Te Awamutu head coach Shelley Blair said.

Discover more

The making of a superstar: Meet Laura Langman's mum

07 Aug 12:00 AM

Lifesaving move in Pirongia sees AED donated to Four Square

14 Aug 09:04 PM

Say cheese: CCTV cameras installed in Te Awamutu

14 Aug 09:10 PM

Te Awamutu Paper Plus wins store of the year award

14 Aug 09:14 PM

"LJ Hooker and Special Olympics Te Awamutu are very community orientated so the partnership between both parties is a great fit.

"LJ Hooker's values of passion, persistence, integrity, knowledge and team work are not dissimilar to Special Olympics — sportsmanship, athlete leadership, unity, bravery and perseverance and a commitment to inclusion, respect and dignity."

Head coach Shelley Blair takes delight in the crowd capturing address given by Special Olympian Leanne Cummins, watched by auctioneer Kevin Hart, at the 2013 Special Olympics fundraising auction.
Head coach Shelley Blair takes delight in the crowd capturing address given by Special Olympian Leanne Cummins, watched by auctioneer Kevin Hart, at the 2013 Special Olympics fundraising auction.

The van builds on and reinforces these values.

The paintwork on the left-hand side of the van features New Zealand Special Olympics team swimmers Unity Collins, Portia Johnson and Deshan Walallavita with their medals at Livingstone Aquatics, Te Awamutu Events Centre, on their return from the World Games in Dubai earlier this year. It symbolises what can be achieved through training with the support of a club environment, families and caregivers.

Featured on the right hand side of the van is Deshan Walallavita on the dive block, symbolising 'ready, set, go' — 'Give It A Go'.

"The athletes are so passionate about belonging to our club and wanting to be the best they can be," Blair said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Special Olympics changes lives. Special Olympics is first and foremost a sports organisation for people with an intellectual disability, but it provides athletes with far more than the physical benefits of sport.

"It's about fun, friendships and team spirit; it's about a feeling of belonging, and ultimately improving quality of life. Through sport, athletes develop both physically and emotionally. They make new friends, realise their dreams and feel a sense of belonging."

Te Awamutu's team with their medals at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Wellington, 2017.
Te Awamutu's team with their medals at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Wellington, 2017.

Blair said Special Olympics enables athletes to achieve and win, not only in sport but in life too.

The Special Olympics motto is "Let me win, but if I can't win, let me be brave in the attempt".

There is no doubting that the arrival of the van has lifted the athletes' spirits to an even higher level in their quest to achieve in all walks of life.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Waikato News

Waikato Herald

'I heard it crash ... then someone scream': Neighbour recounts crash and attack on driver

Waikato Herald

Families of Waiuku crash victims ‘coming to terms with this life-altering event’

Waikato Herald

Police retrieve items from crash site at ‘roller coaster road’ where woman and two children died


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Waikato News

'I heard it crash ... then someone scream': Neighbour recounts crash and attack on driver
Waikato Herald

'I heard it crash ... then someone scream': Neighbour recounts crash and attack on driver

'I saw that some (people) were beating the driver up.'

16 Jul 12:59 AM
Families of Waiuku crash victims ‘coming to terms with this life-altering event’
Waikato Herald

Families of Waiuku crash victims ‘coming to terms with this life-altering event’

16 Jul 12:37 AM
Police retrieve items from crash site at ‘roller coaster road’ where woman and two children died
Waikato Herald

Police retrieve items from crash site at ‘roller coaster road’ where woman and two children died

15 Jul 10:44 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP