Nina Buckman and Gary Newman just can’t stop talking about Special Olympics.

Their faces glowing with excitement, they show off boxes and bags of medals won during local, state and national competitions. The athletes, their families and countless individuals who volunteer time or donate money are the backbone of the organization.

One of those volunteers is Sara Benish, a committee member and former local coordinator for the Beaufort-Hyde Special Olympics. She, too, beams when she talks about Special Olympics and the people it impacts.

“During our one-day track and field event we’ll have as many as 300 athletes and up to 50 volunteers throughout the community, including donors and sponsors,” Benish said. “I became involved back in high school when our FBLA club volunteered to help, and I left inspired. I love to volunteer; I’m passionate about it.”

Even with all the faithful volunteers who give of their time, talents and funds to keep Special Olympics afloat in Beaufort County, additional help is always needed, according to Benish. Athletes have asked that such sports as basketball, volleyball, golf, bocce and tennis be added to the roster. Local athletes already stay busy training and competing in bowling, aquatics, alpine skiing, athletics, power lifting and sailing.

“But we need more coaches to be able to do this,” Benish said.

Gary Newman’s mother, Kathy Newman, told of the changes she has seen in her son because of his involvement with Special Olympics.

“Gary did not speak to people he didn’t know,” she said. “And now we can’t shut him up! He’s found his voice.”

Her son blossomed and gained confidence; in 2010 he represented North Carolina at the national games in Nebraska, bringing home four medals.

“I like skiing and bowling,” Gary Newman noted. He has been active in Special Olympics for about 16 years, and during that time he was named Coastal Plains Area Athlete of the Year in 2012 and N.C. Athlete of the Year in 2013.

Like Gary Newman, Nina Buckman is a longtime member of the local Special Olympics family. She is active in bowling, skiing, sailing, swimming and track and field events.

“It’s a great experience from God,” she said of Special Olympics. “God didn’t want me to stay home; he wanted me to meet new people.”

Only once did Nina’s confidence waver, according to her mother, Susan Buckman.

“Nina is an alpine skier but she never liked the tow rope,” the elder Buckman recalled. “I told her just to pray about it and that God would give her courage. She got there and there was no tow rope; there was a conveyor belt they could just step on and ride up!”

Nina Buckman’s ultimate goal in Special Olympics is to become a global messenger; in that capacity she would travel and raise awareness about what the experience has done for her. The local committee is currently scouting for a volunteer to assist her with that endeavor.

Local Special Olympics organizers praise Project UNIFY, a program which partners special needs students with their mainstreamed peers in a high school setting. There are high hopes to expand that program in Beaufort County.

Eric Sedlacek has assumed the helm locally for Special Olympics, and one of his current projects is recruiting coaches and other volunteers. For more information, visit sonc.net.