Of the sports Special Olympics Indiana Jackson County offers, Jim Shepherd has had a hand in all of them, either as the coach or an assistant.
Ever since the program was restarted in Jackson County in late 2017, he has coached softball, basketball, horseshoes, track and field, corn toss, bowling and bocce.
The Ackeret family, meanwhile, has been instrumental in providing a variety of sports and activities for athletes and volunteers.
Crystal Ackeret started on the county management team and eventually took over as county coordinator, while her middle daughter, Hannah Ackeret, became a Class A volunteer, and her oldest daughter, Haley Hoener, became an athlete, and her youngest daughter, Nevaeh Ackeret, also joined as an athlete.
Shepherd and the Ackerets embody the spirit of Special Olympics, a nonprofit organization that provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for individuals ages 8 and up with intellectual disabilities.
Special Olympics Indiana recently announced Shepherd as Coach of the Year for Area 2 and the Ackerets as Family of the Year for Area 2.
Each year, programs within the 10 areas in Indiana can submit nominations for the Spirit of Special Olympics Awards Program. Recognition is for athletes, coaches, families and volunteers who have demonstrated outstanding support of Special Olympics Indiana and an overall commitment to the county program and exemplified the Special Olympics spirit of skill, courage, sharing and joy.
For 2023, Jackson County received two of the four awards for Area 2, which includes Jackson, Brown, Bartholomew, Jennings, Clark, Floyd, Washington, Scott, Orange, Harrison, Crawford, Jefferson and Switzerland counties.
The other Area 2 winners were Sandy Shields of Washington County, Volunteer of the Year, and Paula Sneed of Clark-Floyd Counties, Athlete of the Year.
After areas select a winner in each category, members of the Special Olympics Indiana board of directors review the nomination forms and select the state award winners. All area winners are invited to the state conference Oct. 14 in Noblesville to be recognized at a luncheon, and the state winner in each category will be announced.
Crystal Ackeret said she and her family were very shocked they were even considered for the award.
“We are just doing something we love with our friends that we love,” she said. “I love that my family loves Special Olympics as much as I do. My husband (Justin) is very supportive of us spending time volunteering, and our girls love being active in the program.”
She said she likes being part of something that makes a difference.
“For me, it has never been about the sports,” Crystal said. “In the beginning, me getting involved was about me finding something for Haley to feel like she fit in. We both found that. When Nevaeh came to live with us, she tagged along to practice and games, and the friendships from the athletes and volunteers were just a huge blessing.”
Crystal remained county coordinator until earlier this year, and she is still on the county management team and helps transport athletes to and from practices and events.
Haley and Nevaeh both participate in track and field and have competed at the Special Olympics Indiana Summer Games in Terre Haute for four years.
In the past, Nevaeh and Haley competed in basketball, Haley played softball and Nevaeh did bowling. Hannah also regularly attended sports practices and helped in any way she was needed when she was in high school.
The family also has been an active participant in the Polar Plunge fundraiser that benefits the county and state programs and been part of other fundraising and social events, and Crystal has volunteered with others from the county program for Jackson County United Way Day of Caring.
The family has been heavily involved in the county program starting an Athlete Leadership Council in 2021. Haley was elected chairperson, while Crystal and her other two daughters have attended those meetings.
Outside Special Olympics, the family is involved in their church in Washington County and works hard on their family farm.
“It’s families like the Ackerets that make our program what it is,” the nomination letter reads. “They certainly have made an impact on the program and its volunteers and athletes, and we know that will continue.”
Shepherd coached Special Olympics softball in the 1980s, but he later stepped away from coaching when his kids were involved in sports.
Once they were out of school, he decided to join the county management team and volunteer to coach the first sport the county program offered, softball.
“I wanted to get back into it,” he said. “I’ve worked with people with disabilities since the mid-‘80s, but there’s a difference between trying to be a therapist to them versus a softball coach, and it’s good to see people in this kind of setting.”
He coached in 2018 and 2019, and then the sport wasn’t offered in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since it restarted in 2021, he has been one of the coaches.
Shepherd also has coached basketball for six years. In the first season, the teams made it to the sectional championship in their levels. In 2022, all four of the county’s teams competed at the state tournament.
This year, his three-on-three men’s team won sectional and made it to the championship game of the state tournament. He also coached the women’s three-on-three team at state.
Shepherd coached horseshoes in 2019 and assisted with track and field when both sports competed in the Summer Games. In 2021, he coached horseshoes and also assisted with track and field and bocce. Last year and this year, he coached track.
Outside of being a coach, Shepherd stepped up this year to serve as a mentor to athlete Derrick Martin for Athlete Leadership University. Shepherd also regularly attends fundraisers and social activities and helps transport athletes to practices and competitions, and he enrolled in the Pacers Pals program, giving athletes and his clients an opportunity to go Indiana Pacers basketball games.
Because of his dedication to the program, Shepherd has been awarded Jackson County Coach of the Year each year.
Through his job working with people with special needs, Shepherd has been instrumental in getting more athletes involved in the county program, too.
“It’s easy to see how much Special Olympics means to Jim,” the nomination letter says. “At practices and games, he takes the time to teach everyone the correct way to play the sports and ensures they display good sportsmanship at all times. He also makes sure that, no matter win or lose, everyone has fun and gets as much out of the experience as he does.”