WATCH: Tim Shriver In Arizona Today For Special Olympics, Very Conscious Of Political Environment

Approximately 1,000 athletes, volunteers, law enforcement officers and donors gathered at the Arizona Biltmore this morning for the "Breakfast of Champions", celebrating and raising funds for Special Olympics of Arizona.  Today's keynote speaker was the Chairperson/CEO of Special Olympics International (founded by his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver) Tim Shriver, and he was very aware of Arizona's reputation as a very conservative state.

While emphasizing that Special Olympics transcends partisan politics, he nevertheless returned to the subject a couple of times.  He spoke of an encounter this morning in the hotel elevator.  Shriver noted that one of the several ladies (he humorously/awkwardly described how dressy they were) asked him if he had ever been told that he looks like he could be a Kennedy (he really does).  After acknowledging that he has heard that before, Shriver said one of the other ladies said something like "Doesn't that piss you off?"  Never mind that other hotel guests are also likely not from Arizona, but it still drew a good laugh.

As part of his very good presentation, Shriver played a video from a teenaged girl with a brother that has Down Syndrome that has been on YouTube for a couple of years:  

If you have never been to a Special Olympics event or volunteered, you should  - let me know and I can fill you in on some dates.

And, if you would like to support this worthy organization and today's Breakfast of Champions, here's a link.  (Where it asks for "Table Captain", either leave it blank or fill in ArizonasPolitics.com.)


We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com or call 602-799-7025. Thanks.