By Trevor Redden

Breakfast held to benefit Special Olympics, Raiders’ Education Fund

May 30, 2018 | 5:09 PM

Wednesday morning, the Prince Albert Raiders and Special Olympics Prince Albert (SOPA) joined forces for the 13th Annual Training for Life Special Olympics Breakfast.

This year’s guest speaker was the long-time voice of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and former voice of the Raiders, Rod Pedersen. Over 200 people were in attendance to raise money for SOPA and the Raiders Education Fund.

Although Pedersen hasn’t worked in Prince Albert since 1995, he said he felt right at home amongst the crowd in the Ches Leach Lounge.

“To see those familiar faces with the Raiders, tell some hockey stories, meet some of the athletes here from Special Olympics too so you can see directly who you’re benefiting, it’s a win-win and I wish I could stay longer,” said Pedersen who was on his way back to Saskatoon after the event for week two of Roughrider training camp.

Also speaking at the event were Curtis Hunt, the General Manager of the Raiders, and Mike Svenson who holds a dual role as Manager of Sales/Sponsorship with the Raiders and Co-Chair of SOPA.

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Svenson’s involvement with Special Olympics stems from a personal connection.

“My 15-year-old son Tanner joined a couple years ago, and ever since the very first day, I’ve been overwhelmed with pride and joy watching him transform into a more confident, more competitive, more compassionate, outgoing person than he ever was and I attribute a lot of his personal success to joining the Special Olympics and being in that environment,” Svenson said.

Several local athletes were in attendance Wednesday morning, and Svenson mentioned a pair who would be competing at a national level this summer.

Trevor Fendelet will represent Prince Albert at the Canada Summer Games in Halifax as a golfer, while Dylan Dubois will take part in the event as a softball player, competing out of Saskatoon as Prince Albert currently doesn’t offer the program.

Dubois is the son of former SOPA Co-Chair Ed Dubois, who sadly passed away in February.

SOPA is accepting new athletes who are interested in competing, and more volunteers who can help the organization launch more programs in the future.

Those interested can learn more at www.specialolympicspa.com, or contact Svenson at 306-960-7711.

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden