Kyle Norman, Special Olympics Montana Athlete of the Year and Town Pump employee.
Sports bring people together. Special Olympics Montana does that and more. Each year over 2,000 athletes from over 65 Montana communities participate in events at the state Summer Games, bowling competitions, area Winter Games, and the state basketball tournament.
Special Olympics Montana offers year-round training and competition in 18 Olympic-type sports for individuals with intellectual disabilities. State-level competitions are available for anyone ages 8 and older (SOMT does offer additional programming for those younger than 8), and events are designed to serve all-ability levels. Every athlete is recognized for his or her performance and encouraged to achieve their personal best.
Special Olympics is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
In Unified Sports, teams are made up of people of similar age and ability. That makes practices more fun and games more challenging and exciting for all. Having a sport in common is just one more way that preconceptions and false ideas are swept away.
Each year at the state basketball tournament, the athlete of the year is recognized. This year’s athlete is Kyle Norman of the Helena Halos. Kyle has been a Special Olympics Athlete for 11 years and has participated in sports year-round including basketball, bowling, athletics, swimming, bocce and soccer.
Kyle cares about his teammates. Time and time again, Kyle has made an effort to connect with others by initiating conversations, asking questions and genuinely showing interest in the lives of his teammates. At the state bowling tournament, Kyle was cheering on his teammates until every athlete was finished bowling.
Not only is Kyle a Special Olympics team member, he is also a Town Pump team member. Kyle is a cashier at the Town Pump Express Car Wash in Helena. All of the staff at Town Pump congratulate Kyle on this prestigious award.
Thirty years ago, Town Pump first partnered with Special Olympics Montana in selling $5 MTN/Chevy Truck raffle Tickets. In 2024, customers, players and hotel guests purchased a record-setting 48,426 raffle tickets raising $242,130 for the athletes of Special Olympics Montana. Since 2006, Town Pump team members have sold 457,578 tickets, raising $2,292,700 for Special Olympics Montana.
On Feb. 1, 2025, Town Pump team members will begin selling MTN/Chevy Truck raffle tickets. The price is still $5 — the same price as 31 years ago! Town Pump is also contributing the second-place prize of $10,000 in cash. In addition, there will be three $1,000 Town Pump gift cards as raffle prizes.
Learn more at townpumpfoundation.com/SpecialOlympicsMontana.
