AUSTINTOWN — After several years of little activity, the Special Olympics in Mahoning County is making a comeback, thanks to the volunteer efforts of one Austintown woman.

Shannon Arcade has taken on the role of running the Special Olympics program and has started with bowling and basketball.

Arcade grew up in Austintown and graduated from Fitch High School in 2004. She played several sports in school, including basketball, when she was a student at Frank Ohl Middle School. Little did she know how that would come into play this year.

After high school, Shannon continued her education at Youngstown State University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in business. From there, she entered the family business.

“My parents (Ron and Rae Arcade) started RaeArc Industries in 1994,” Arcade said. “The business provides residential housing, transportation and a day care program (The Carousel Center) for adults with disabilities.”

She returned to YSU for her master’s degree and graduated in 2018.

Since Arcade was 5 years old, she had been around adults with disabilities. She got to know and understand what these individuals needed and wanted. She also worked her way up to the position of executive director of RaeArc.

When the company began, Arcade said it had nine employees. Today, she has more than 100 working to serve adults with disabilities. In her executive role, she noticed one thing that seemed to be fading away in the past few years.

“I wondered why we weren’t having the Special Olympics anymore,” she said. “COVID had shut it down and no one was picking it up.”

She said for many with disabilities, being sheltered in their homes was devastating. Not being able to socialize or be involved in programs with others was like being locked away and is extremely bothersome to disabled adults.

Arcade knew what she had to do. She stepped up to bring Special Olympics back to Mahoning County like it was in the pre-COVID days. She began with bowling, which she said was the easiest to get going.

“We had to start by going through accreditation,” Arcade said. “We had to have a treasurer, a secretary and a bowling coach. Holiday Bowl in Struthers agreed to participate, but we had to charge participants $3 per game as we had no funds yet.”

The first bowling sessions, or season, ran for 11 weeks from September through December. A second session began Jan. 13 and will run through April.

“We have between 40 and 50 bowlers each week,” Arcade said. “We have the alleys from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.”

The second sport that Arcade began is basketball. To get this one up and running, Arcade had to take on a second role, that of coach.

She uses the knowledge she gained playing for Frank Ohl. The basketball program started in October with players from age 8 to 59 trying out.

“We took everyone that came out on a team,” she said.

She said Special Olympics has several divisions that are broken down to experience and skills. Dribbling and passing the ball are among the skills looked at when determining in which division a team competes.

“Division 1 teams are the most experienced and competitive,” Arcade said. “Division 3 is tough as well. So far, we have a Division 4 team. We have 14 players that are a mix of Divisions 3, 4 and 5.”

Arcade is hoping to attract enough individuals to have more than one team and maybe a more competitive team in Division 3 or better.

“In taking on the role of coach, I was concerned about having a solid program,” she said. “We presently have athletes going to other counties because we didn’t have anything here. Next season, we hope to get those people back.”

As of this week, the team is 3-2 on the season with three more games on the schedule. The last game will be Feb. 6 against Columbiana, then a special Service and Support Administration game will be played Feb. 8.

The two sports are a lot for Arcade. Besides her regular full-time job with RaeArc, she has been putting in 10 to 15 unpaid volunteer hours each week running the basketball team and handling the administrative part of Special Olympics.

She said a lot of time is spent setting up a game. It requires finding a team in the same division, arranging transportation, getting officials, and then there are the duties of practices and handling the team.

“I am hoping to get more coaches for all our teams so I can do more of the coordinating and arranging the games,” Arcade said.

She said the basketball team has to play three qualifying games to be able to compete at the regionals, then have a chance at a trip to the state SO finals. The bowling team goes off individual’s scores for regional and state qualifying.

As bowling and basketball seasons are coming to a close, Arcade is looking ahead at adding more SO sports to the list. She would like to start bocce, softball and maybe flag football.

“We are waiting to see what kind of volunteer coaches we can get,” she said. “My main goal right now is to bring our Mahoning County Special Olympic athletes back home to their own county, enjoying what they like to do.”

As for Arcade, she is still learning the ropes of running the Special Olympics program and she is contacting local businesses and individuals to help raise funds for it. She is also planning fundraisers that will support the sports programs and give those with disabilities a chance to enjoy life a little richer.

Tricia Perry, community education specialist for the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said without Arcade stepping up like she did, the Special Olympics in Mahoning County may not have made a comeback.

To suggest a Saturday profile, contact Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com.