For the fourth year in a row, a ThurstonTalk photographer was capturing smiles at the Day of Champions held at Tumwater Stadium.
Sponsored by the Tumwater Kiwanis, Day of Champions has become an annual year end celebration for Special Education students from throughout Thurston County and beyond. This year, over 640 participants, from as far away as Hood River, came with their teachers and peer mentors to participate in multiple field day events that were specially modified to meet the needs of athletes.
Justin Gurnsey has been organizing the event for many years now, but an army of volunteers is what makes it happen. Leadership classes from both Tumwater and Black Hills High Schools, Key Clubs from THS and BHHS, and the cheer squads from both schools served as greeters, station workers, and peer mentors. Community volunteers from the City of Tumwater and local Kiwanis groups also participated, organizing t-shirts, cooking lunch for everyone, and making sure there was parking for the armada of busses that arrived from 10 different school districts.
