AAST: Flame of Hope travels through Idaho to World Winter Games

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Flame of Hope travels through Idaho to World Winter Games

An Idaho State Police vehicle leads the Final Leg through Post Falls, Idaho, on the second day of the run. ISP troopers escorted the Final Leg on every mile of the run through Idaho.

For decades, state troopers have volunteered their time to show support of Special Olympics, first and foremost through the Law Enforcement Torch Run. The Special Olympics torch, known as the Flame of Hope, made its way from Greece to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Jan. 29, as law enforcement officers began the eight-day Final Leg of the Torch Run.

M/Cpl. Jerry Stemm of the Idaho State Police, center, stands with Australian Special Olympics athlete torch runner Paula Morrissey, right, and Oregon Special Olympics athlete torch runner Aaron Aarseth at the Massacre Rock State Park in southeast Idaho.

Members of the Idaho State Police were instrumental in seeing the flame carried by the 2009 Final Leg team through more than 80 communities throughout Idaho before arriving in Boise and lighting the cauldron to initiate the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, which took place Feb. 6-13.

"Being part of this world-renowned event is an extreme honor,” said Final Leg committee planner Tpr. Allen Ashby of the ISP. “We have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these special athletes, and for many of them, the Special Olympics is the highlight of their lives.”

Numerous state police and highway patrol departments participate in Torch Run events each year, including the Florida Highway Patrol. Runners in the April event included staff members from FHP headquarters and the academy, as well as the 117th Academy Class. Pictured are FHP Troop B staff members with Special Olympics athletes.

The Final Leg tradition is for law enforcement officers, representing their state and country Torch Run program, to act as “guardians of the flame” and to carry the torch to the opening ceremonies. The Final Leg represents the culmination of Torch Run events that have occurred throughout the world to benefit Special Olympics, an international program of year-round sports training and athletic competition for more than one million children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The Final Leg team, over 100 strong, is comprised each year of law enforcement runners, Special Olympics athletes, and support team members. Participants are chosen from Torch Run programs from throughout the World.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run is the organization’s largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle, raising $34 million for Special Olympics programs around the world in 2008.

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