“Special” Weekend in Long Beach !

The weekend of June 13-14 was another gratifying weekend for me serving as Director of Fit Feet for the Special Olympics at Cal- State Long Beach. It was especially exciting this year because it was the event’s 40th Anniversary. The attached photos feature a 2,000 cupcake- cake with icing on top. We all had just ONE cupcake at 11 a.m. Saturday. Honest, just one.The FBI’s swat team gear and truck were on display. We had a number for new volunteers this year who enjoyed the experience. My tireless staff and I screened over 165 athletes and 330 feet. Over 1100 athletes competed in the 2- day event. My office manager Terri and husband, Tom volunteered on Sun. Overall, we had 6 podiatrists, 1 podiatry student, 10 other volunteers. The Special Olympics is a wonderful organization. I’m proud to be part of it. There are a number of ways to take get involved. If you’d like to volunteer and coach, assist with sports or special events, or provide office help please contact Elyse Garcia, 562.570.1685. For more information go to www.sosc.org

Special Olympics Always a “Special Weekend”

With the 2008 Bejing Olympics just weeks away, many people don’t realize that every June the Special Olympics are held at Cal State-Long Beach. For the 6th year, it was my privilege to serve asDirector of Fit Feet, which features volunteer doctors who offer free foot treatment and shoe analysis to the hundreds of dedicated athletes. More than 76,000 health professionals and health professions students, inall categories, have volunteered at Healthy Athletes events from 1997-2007. Special Olympics has conducted screenings for more than 689,000 athletes at more than 3,000 events during that time. My involvement with thiswonderful organization has provided me with some of the most emotionally gratifying times of my medical career.