A Truly Special Award
By Jason Zasky
A Truly Special Award
Spring Hill’s Jack Elder receives the 2024 Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement Award
"Sports have always been an important part of my life. I knew at an early age I wanted to be a teacher and coach," begins Jack Elder, recipient of the 2024 Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the legendary University of Tennessee women's basketball coach and conferred by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. After beginning a teaching and coaching career in south Texas, the El Paso native moved to Nashville in 1972, where he pursued a graduate degree in Physical Education and Recreation for the Handicapped at George Peabody College.
It was there that he was introduced to Special Olympics, which had been founded four years earlier to provide sports training and athletic competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities. In 1973, he was named the first executive director of Tennessee Special Olympics, part of an effort to develop statewide Special Olympics programs all over the country.
"When I first heard about the program, it really got to my heart," says Elder. "I had taken sports for granted, and here we had a whole population that didn’t have the opportunity to participate. As soon as Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded Special Olympics, I felt strongly that I wanted to be part of it.”
Long story short: by the time Elder moved on to a position with the organization's international office in the late 1980s, Tennessee Special Olympics was recognized as one the country's strongest and best-managed state programs, with upwards of 13,000 athletes participating in local, regional, and statewide competitions in 14 sports.
To get to that place, Elder spent a lot of time on the road introducing the program and explaining it to people.
"In the early years, I sensed that some individuals did not feel that Special Olympians should be considered athletes, but after learning more and/or experiencing the joy, skill, sharing, and courage of the Special Olympics athletes, that perception grew much smaller," he says. "I focused on visiting colleges & universities, parks & recreation departments, and people with an interest in sports. I also talked to civic groups to educate them and get people to volunteer," he adds, noting that by the time he moved on to a position with Special Olympics International, there were upwards of 8,000 volunteers in Tennessee, working across 16 area programs that covered every county in the state.
That said, this is not the first time that Elder has been honored for his work with Special Olympics. For example, in 1984, he was named Sportsman of the Year by the Nashville Banner.
But on this occasion, he was feted at the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame banquet, held at the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville in July. On that day, he shared the spotlight with other athletes, coaches, sportswriters, and sports administrators who have impacted the history of Tennessee sports, with 2024 inductees that included former Tennessee Titans All-Pro running back Chris Johnson; former Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne; and gold medal-winning figure skater Scott Hamilton, the latter of whom is also famous for his work as a television analyst and commentator.
In addition to being formally honored at the 2024 banquet, Elder had the opportunity to do a live Q&A with Tennessee Titans radio play-by-play announcer Mike Keith. That was a chance to publicly reflect and comment on a career that included operating a regional office (out of Nashville) for Special Olympics International beginning in 1988.
"My role was to work with ten states and two U.S. territories, to help establish Special Olympics programs in other countries, and to accept other special projects as assigned by Mrs. Shriver," recalls Elder, who is now retired and lives in Spring Hill, where he serves as Vice Chair of the Historic Commission.
Given the opportunity to reflect further, Elder says: "My time with Tennessee Special Olympics was special. It brought me such joy in helping to bring sports participation to a population of individuals that would not, for the most part, have had that experience without Special Olympics. I never made much money, but I don’t know how anyone could have had a more rewarding career,” he offers.
Elder is also very appreciative of the countless men & women who helped him grow the Tennessee Special Olympics program—without whom his lifetime achievement award wouldn't have been possible.
"I always had a very small but dedicated staff, who were so important in overcoming challenges and reaching milestones. And the athletes, parents, and volunteers—not to mention our Board of Directors and many generous financial contributors—were remarkable to work with and served as an inspiration," he adds, before noting that Music City might well be in the Special Olympics spotlight at the beginning of the next decade, as Nashville and Cleveland are the two finalist cities bidding to host the 2030 Special Olympics USA Games.
As for the Pat Summitt Lifetime Achievement Award: "It means a lot to me," he concludes. "When you're in sports, that's about as good as it gets."
For more information about Special Olympics Tennessee:
