Lois Aitkenhead from Special Olympics Nelson has been chosen as the Nelson/Tasman Thank a Sport Maker finalist and is now in the running for the national award.
Lois, who was named as Nelson-Tasman’s Thank A Sport Maker for 2016 in December, says it was a “lovely surprise” to be selected as a regional finalist.
Lois first got involved with Special Olympics Nelson in 1998 when asked to be the fairy as their Christmas party, has since spent many years as the club’s chairwoman and coordinator.
“I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Much of her effort in recent years has been encouraging schools to enter their students into the Special Olympics NZ club sports programme.
“We are starting to get younger members and their parents involved to replace a lot of our older athletes,” says Lois.
As one of the 10 regional finalists in the Thank A Sport Maker awards, Lois requires support if she is to claim the $10,000 team experience national prize.
Voting opened on Wednesday last week and runs through to Friday, click here to vote for Lois.
