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Swim meet honors memory of Kelly Jo Carlson
The meet usually involves teams from several counties.
WARREN — The sixth annual Area 11 Kelly Jo Carlson Memorial Special Olympics Swim Meet is Oct. 24 at the new state-of-the-art Warren G. Harding High School natatorium.
The meet, previously at Youngstown State University, is inspired by Carlson, who died at 33 on April 21, 2004.
Kelly, daughter of Paul and Lois Carlson of Bazetta, was a competitive swimmer at Warren Western Reserve High School and enjoyed volunteering and had helped at Special Olympics events since she was a child.
Her father said he and his family plan to underwrite the annual Area 11 Kelly Jo Carlson Memorial Swim Meet indefinitely.
“It helps the Special Olympics, and it helps us deal with Kelly’s death,” he said.
Because of Kelly’s interest in Special Olympics, her parents asked that monetary tributes at the time of her death go to the Special Olympics program at Trumbull County’s Fairhaven School. The fund established is used to sponsor the event. Contributions can be sent to Special Olympics, Fairhaven School, 420 Lincoln Way, Niles, OH 44446 in Kelly’s name.
Kelly was student-body president her senior year at Warren Western Reserve High School, where she lettered 11 times: four each in swimming and softball and three in tennis. A graduate of Kent State University, she was completing a master’s degree in business administration at Webster University in San Diego at the time of her death. Most importantly, said her parents, she was a lifelong volunteer for Special Olympic events.
The swim meet event was moved to Harding this year for a number of reasons.
First, the school’s facility is helpful to the special-needs participants, her father said.
Also, he said, Kelly’s connections to Harding are numerous.
Harding’s athletic director, Paul Trina, was one of the teachers she most respected along with Frank Bubba, former Harding basketball head coach who is deceased, Carlson said.
Additionally, Harding’s assistant athletic director is Len Redmond, a longtime friend of Kelly’s and a close friend of the Carlson family. The Harding swim coach, Steve Lucko, was a teammate of Kelly’s at Reserve, and Harding’s diving coach, Craig Charnas, was her coach at Reserve, Carlson said.
The meet, hosted by the Trumbull County Fairhaven Program, starts at 1 p.m. It usually involves teams from Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Stark and Summit counties that are affiliated with developmental disabilities programs. The meet serves as a qualifying event for the state Special Olympics.
The money donated in Kelly’s memory is used for pool fees, officials, security, lifeguards, awards and other costs associated with the meet, Carlson said.
alcorn@vindy.com