Niki Nelson is a police specialist with the Waukesha Police Department. She has personified the spirit of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Wisconsin for nearly 20 years. Last year she represented Wisconsin for the 2017 Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria. For this year’s Spread the Word to End the Word Day, Nelson has written about how she came to the be a part of the Inclusion Revolution and why the R-word campaign is so important. It has been lightly edited for clarity.
By Niki Nelson
I have included a picture for my blog post. This is my uncle David.
Nelson (R) with her uncle
He is the main reason for my involvement is Special Olympics. But he is not the only reason. My mom was a special education teacher and I had the privilege to help in her classrooms long after graduating college and while working at the police department. Special Olympics is about so much more than sports. It’s about the relationships that are built with the families and the athletes that become friends.
It’s about officers coming together to support one another for many purposes but one of the most important is inclusion. Everyone wants to know that they belong no matter how they look, their education level, where they come from, how they dress. No one likes to be called names based on any of these factors and that is one reason why this campaign is so important.
Everyone wants respect. The more people that become involved in Special Olympics, the bigger this movement will be. I am so grateful to have my uncle in my life. He has taught me so much about life. Not everyone gets to have someone as special as my uncle in their life. I am lucky and blessed.
Spread the Word to End the Word and support inclusion by signing the pledge.
