The Special Olympics West Virginia Summer Games at West Virginia University will officially begin when an Upshur County athlete and Morgantown police officer carry the torch into the Coliseum during opening ceremonies at 8 p.m. Friday, June 6.

Ricky Boyd, who is playing softball in this year’s games, and Gina Stewart, public relations and crime prevention officer with the Morgantown Police Department, will open the games by lighting the Flame of Hope before an estimated 700 athletes, their coaches and about 1,000 volunteers and supporters. The Flame of Hope will burn continuously until the games conclude Sunday, June 8.

“It’s cool,”Boyd, a 39-year-old athlete who has won medals in basketball and bowling, said of the honor.”It means a lot to represent Upshur County.”

The purpose of the Law Enforcement Torch Run is to increase public awareness of Special Olympics and raise funds for the Summer Games, said John Corbett, chief executive officer for Special Olympics West Virginia. Participating officers solicit individual or corporate donations for their portions of the run. The organization has pledged $20,000 to this year’s games.

In its 18th year in West Virginia, the torch run begins Tuesday, June 3, with officers hoofing it from Huntington to Charleston. Other runs include the Parkersburg area and Charleston to Ripley Wednesday, June 4; the Clarksburg area, Beckley to Oak Hill, and Fayetteville to Summersville Thursday, June 5; Sabraton to the Coliseum around noon and into the Coliseum at 8 p.m. Friday, June 6.

About 200 law enforcement officers across West Virginia are participating in the run, Corbett said.

“I think it’s very rewarding that we have law enforcement officers volunteering their time on behalf of our athletes,”he said.”I think they have a special bond with our athletes and want our athletes to showcase their courage and determination.”

Stewart could not agree more.

“The Special Olympians we’ll be dealing with in Morgantown are an awesome group of individuals, and I feel a definite connection with them,”said Stewart, who one year spent part of a day on the roof of a Morgantown Hardee’s to raise money for Special Olympics.”The fact that I have been asked to carry the torch with one of the athletes is a true honor.”

Started in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics is a sports competition for people with mental disabilities. With more than a million athletes and 500,000 volunteers, it is the largest athletic program for people who are mentally handicapped.