Diane Berry, a longtime volunteer in the Pleasanton community, recently received the Rookie of the Year award from the Special Olympics of Northern California for her new role as area coordinator for the Tri-Valley Rockets team.
"I'm honored to receive such a wonderful award, and love being called a rookie," Berry told Livermore Vine.
"Who's next?" Berry asked, hoping to use her award to help encourage others to volunteer. "We are seeing double-digit growth in the number of local athletes coming out to play in our winter and spring programs -- basketball, track and field, and bocce ball. We need more Special Olympics volunteers, from rookies to seasoned volunteers. You know who you are; come out and join our volunteer team."
Berry said the time commitment is about one or two hours per week for six weeks to help train athletes for a local tournament each season.
To learn more, email volunteer4SONC@gmail.com or visit Special Olympics of Northern California at www.sonc.org.
