Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics® – 2005 Final Leg Every two years, law enforcement officers from around the world gather to carry the "Flame of Hope" in a Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg in honor of the Special Olympics World Summer or World Winter Games. The Torch Run Final Leg is not only a salute to the athletes who compete in the Special Olympics World Games, but also an honor for the participating law enforcement officers who make up the Torch Run Final Leg Team. The 2003 Final Leg was the largest event in Torch Run history, covering 9,000 miles and 19 countries throughout Europe, attracting 250,000 spectators. Chairman of the XI Special Olympics World Summer Games Ireland 2003, Denis O'Brien, receives the torch from the High Priestess Evangelia Panopoulou during the ceremony of the Lighting of the Flame of Hope, in Athens, Greece. [Photo by Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE *EDI*] The Final Leg starts when, in the ancient Olympic tradition, the flame for the Special Olympics World Games is ignited by the rays of the sun opposite the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. This symbolic flame, protected in miner's lamps, travels to the site of the World Games, where law enforcement officers, representing their state, province or nation, act as "Guardians of the Flame" and carry the "Flame of Hope" (Special Olympics torch) to the Opening Ceremonies of the Games. The Flame Lighting Ceremony for the 2005 World Games Final Leg took place on 15 February 2005. The "Flame of Hope" traveled from Athens, arriving in Tokyo, Japan, on 17 February. On the evening of 18 February 2005, at Matsumoto Castle, one of the Nagano Prefecture's cultural landmarks, the "Flame of Hope" and the flame from the 5 Million Person Torch Run (a six-month awareness-raising effort through 47 prefectures in Japan) were combined. Then, each day from 20-24 February, two Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg Teams ran the torch in tandem through Nagano Prefecture, arriving in Nagano City for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games on 26 February. Final Leg Mission Create awareness and excitement for Special Olympics and World Games Encourage support and attendance of World Games Proudly represent law enforcement and Torch Run programs worldwide as a symbol of our deep commitment to the athletes of Special Olympics as we serve as ambassadors for law enforcement, Special Olympics and the World Games Make athlete involvement a vital part of the Final Leg (in addition to having Special Olympics athletes as a part of the Final Leg Team, our goal is to highlight foreign delegations via the Host Town Program as well as local athletes at ceremonies) Fulfill our role as "Guardians of the Flame" by maintaining the flame lit in Greece until the lighting of the cauldron at the World Games Opening Ceremonies Develop a media relations strategy to publicize and promote the Final Leg and World Games to the fullest extent Place emphasis on creating and planning the best ceremony possible in every community to help fulfill the mission of the Final Leg Involve, inspire and motivate runners to increase their level of commitment to Special Olympics when they return to their local programs. Sponsors of the 2005 Final Leg are: FedEx, Columbia Sportswear Company and Midwest Trophy Manufacturing Company. FedEx, Columbia Sportswear Company and Midwest Trophy Manufacturing Company are sponsors of the 2005 Final Leg. Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics The Law Enforcement Torch Run is an international series of torch relays, run by law enforcement officers, leading up to each state or nation's Special Olympics Summer Games. Law enforcement officers raise money in conjunction with their respective Torch Runs for their local Special Olympics program. The Torch Run is Special Olympics' largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle, raising more than US$20.5 million for Special Olympics Programs around the world in 2004. More than 85,000 law enforcement officers carried the Flame of Hope across 35 nations, and thousands more supported the runners' efforts through "Adopt-A-Cop" runner sponsorships, corporate sponsorships and Torch Run T-shirts (more than 400,000 sold) and other merchandise sales. For more information visit the the Law Enforcement Torch Run section of this Web site.   Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg Team The 2005 Final Leg Team (approximately 125 strong) is made up of law enforcement runners, Special Olympics athletes and Support Team members. Final Leg runners are chosen from Torch Run Programs currently active around the world.        Team Captain Mike Teem North Carolina        Special Olympics Athletes Brian Allred Special Olympics Utah ( USA ) Karen Byrne Special Olympics New Jersey ( USA ) Kyle Gunton Special Olympics Delaware ( USA ) Ruth Hochstrasser Special Olympics North Carolina ( USA ) Tanya McIntosh Special Olympics British Columbia ( Canada ) Kae Momota Special Olympics Japan Mary Murphy Special Olympics Ireland Christopher Perreault Special Olympics Rhode Island ( USA ) Kirk Vaughan Special Olympics Massachusetts ( USA ) Jason Wright Special Olympics Illinois ( USA )        Running Team Leaders Douglas Abraham Colorado (USA) Brian Brunton Ireland Bill Buford Jr. Arkansas (USA) Helen Burns Nova Scotia (Canada) Tim Craig Northern Ireland Roy Forrest North Carolina (USA) Paul Manuel Alberta (Canada) John Newnan Maryland (USA) Michael Peretti Northern California (USA) Gerald Sandoval New Mexico (USA)        Running Team Michael Anderson Florida (USA) Marios Andreou Cyprus John Aonso Gibraltar Robert Barrows Vermont (USA) Louis Beck Mississippi (USA) Michael Beck Indiana (USA) Michael Benson New York (USA) Timothy Burnett Kansas (USA) John Card Michigan (USA) Joseph Carlone Connecticut (USA) Michael Cerame New Jersey (USA) Edward Chen Chinese Taipei Daniel Collis New Hampshire (USA) Mark Daniels Delaware (USA) Michael De Cenzo Hawaii (USA) Frank Cresswell Virginia (USA) Christine Dinham-Jones British Columbia (Canada) Kaoru Edamura Japan Dwayne English Illinois (USA) Lo Tat Fai Hong Kong Edmund Finucane Republic of Ireland Lorie Floyd Wisconsin (USA) Kenneth Fountain Alabama (USA) Brad Freis Texas (USA) Theresa Garagan-Michaluk Alberta (Canada) Daniel Gemmiti Ontario (Canada) Jacek Hachulski Poland James Harrity Pennsylvania (USA) Michael Hennessey California, Southern (USA) Robert Howard Newfoundland/Labrador (Canada) Pamela Icart Rhode Island (USA) Jason Johnson Montana (USA ) Ricky Kieffer Washington (USA) Nikolay Kleshnev Russia Christopher Larotonda Nevada (USA) Dinars Lubins Latvia Katterl Manfred Austria Christopher Marquez New Mexico (USA) Brian McKnight Colorado (USA) Mark McLaughlin California, Northern (USA) Alan McWhirter Northern Ireland Christopher Meyer Minnesota (USA) Tony Miller Arizona (USA) Tadashi Miyairi Japan Ricky Ouber Louisiana (USA) Renald Plamondon Quebec (Canada) Douglas Proud Ohio (USA) Webb Redmond Georgia (USA) Eszter Samu Hungary Ronald Schauer South Dakota (USA) Joey Seeley Maine (USA) Karel Seidl Czech Republic Robert Selby Iowa (USA) Beth Shiers Nebraska (USA) Don Silardi North Carolina (USA) Orhan Sinav Turkey Charles Smits Holland/Netherlands Jeff Spaulding Maryland (USA) Dala Steward Oregon (USA) Don Stewart Australia Calvin Symes Oklahoma (USA) Aidan Taylor Barbados George Tolman Idaho (USA) Dennis Vincent Utah (USA) Randall Werner Missouri (USA) Terry Edward Vrabec Alaska (USA) Robert White Nova Scotia (Canada) William Whittle Wyoming (USA)        Support Team Members Dennis Alldridge Wisconsin (USA) Richard Banahan Missouri (USA) Cheri DeQuattro Special Olympics Headquarters Paul Epstein Hawaii (USA) Robert Hall Utah (USA) Loyd Hamrick Kansas (USA) Lizzi Jay New Mexico (USA) Bruce Mathews New Jersey (USA) Tommy Newman North Carolina (USA) Jeanette Steinfeldt Iowa (USA)        Documentation Team Herb Gelb Pennsylvania (USA)