President's Message

By Margaret Larsen

What an exciting year we have had here at Special Olympics Texas!

On September 6, we officially kicked off the building campaign for our new headquarters here in Austin. This beautiful 20,000-square-foot building, pictured above, will hold the hopes and dreams of thousands of Special Olympics Texas athletes, volunteers and family members.

We expect to start the actual construction of the building in early 2014, once the plans are approved by the City of Austin, and hope to move into the building in March 2015. A lot must happen before then, but I am confident that we will meet all challenges successfully.

One of the largest hurdles is raising the funds to fully fund the construction so we won’t have to pay on a mortgage. We’re working diligently to bring those funds in, and our efforts are paying off ! We started our Capital Campaign with a $2 million lead gift from the GEO Group, which sponsors a yearly golf tournament dedicated to raising money for a new SOTX headquarters.

And then, just a few short weeks before the groundbreaking ceremony, we received a $2 million donation—our largest individual gift ever—from Houston attorneys Amber and Steve Mostyn. Their generous gift honors Amber’s mother, Christi Stanley, who passed away recently.

Amber told me that her mother had a special place in her heart for those with special needs.

“One of her first jobs was at the Fort Worth State School. I grew up hearing her talk about what a privilege it had been to work there. I cannot think of a better way to honor my mother than to contribute to Special Olympics Texas. I am blessed to be able to do so and to have a husband who shares my mother’s passion for giving to others,” she said.

Won’t you please join the Mostyns by helping us build a solid foundation for the growth and sustainability of a program that makes a difference in the lives of thousands of Texans with intellectual disabilities?

For more information about the Capital Campaign and the new facility, visit www.sotx.org/capitalcampaign. If you’d like to participate in the campaign or you want to

learn more about including SOTX in your estate plans, please call me or Janet Smith to see how you can get involved.

Thank you for all you do for our athletes.

Margaret Larsen

President & CEO