{"id":95237,"date":"2017-07-27T14:43:06","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T18:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=95237"},"modified":"2021-04-15T17:20:31","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T21:20:31","slug":"best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Buddies Gathers for 28th Annual Leadership Convention"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><a href=\"http:\/\/www.idsnews.com\/article\/2017\/07\/best-buddies-leadership\">Indiana Daily Student<\/a><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-95238\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Megan-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/>Megan Bomgaars, a self-advocate, artist and entrepreneur with Down syndrome, performs a speech called &#8220;Don&#8217;t Limit Me&#8221;. &#8220;Don&#8217;t limit me by thinking that I can\u2019t learn in your classroom,&#8221; Bomgaars said.<\/p>\n<p>The energy level was high in the IU Auditorium on Friday as attendees to the 28th annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference screamed chants and waved glow sticks, and ushers and volunteers gave high fives to participants as they entered.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands gathered at IU for the conference this year, the theme of which was \u201cPass the Torch,\u201d emphasizing the importance of preparing and empowering future leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Best Buddies International, a non-profit with more than 2,300 chapters in nearly 50 countries, is dedicated to creating opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBest Buddies is so great because it provides opportunities to so many different kids, adults and teens that might not have had the chance to make friendships with so many different people,\u201d said Katie Nettee, a peer-buddy from Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>The organization was founded by Anthony K. Shriver in 1984 and provides eight flagship programs that affect more than 1.1 million\u2028individuals with and without disabilities worldwide, \u2028according to its website.<\/p>\n<p>Best Buddies Jobs is one of those eight programs. It is a supported employment program that secures paying jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, enabling them to work as respected individuals.<\/p>\n<p>Wayne Reed, a Best Buddies ambassador and member of the jobs program, has spoken at previous leadership \u2028conventions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis summer is the upcoming anniversary of five years since I\u2019ve done my first award-winning speech in front of everybody in the auditorium,\u201d he said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have done it without the help of the state of Maryland, my fellow staff and my teachers supporting me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At an opening ceremony, a DJ from Florida played loud, energized music as attendees already inside danced and sang along to songs like \u201cAll I Do is Win\u201d by DJ Khaled and \u201cCupid Shuffle\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Purple spotlights flashed on the stage, and moving colors on the wall created a soft atmosphere, though the energy was anything but.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody\u2019s hands go up,\u201d T-Pain sang on the track as members of the audience collectively raised their hands.<\/p>\n<p>Once 8 p.m. hit, the lights dimmed and intense music started to play. Four Buddies walked out carrying torches as peer-buddies accompanied them with flags. After the music stopped and they paused on stage, sparks flew and Shriver walked out to say a few words.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe days of feeling sorry for our special friends, the days of charity work, the days of \u2018oh how can I help them get ahead, how can I hold their hand, how can I set the table for them,\u2019 those days are over,\u201d Shriver said in his speech as the audience cheered.<\/p>\n<p>Shriver touched on this year\u2019s theme, saying that passing the torch is important because it is inclusive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything that we\u2019re doing in our organization is led by, driven by, inspired by, motivated by and energized by the brain power, the will, the drive and the determination of our special friends,\u201d Shriver said before introducing Megan Bomgaars.<\/p>\n<p>Bomgaars is featured on the A&amp;E TV show \u201cBorn This Way\u201d, and was the first cheerleader in Colorado to compete with Down syndrome. Bomgaars was visibly nervous, taking deep breaths before beginning her speech. The crowd jumped in to reassure her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou got it Meg!\u201d someone yelled from the back of the audience as members cheered for her.<\/p>\n<p>After a few deep breaths and the encouragement of her peers, Bomgaars began her speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a big honor to be here speaking with Best Buddies today,\u201d Bomgaars said. \u201cI want to share with you my dreams and goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bomgaars, 23, and a student at the University of Colorado &#8211; Colorado Springs, talked about her experiences paying her own taxes and writing an upcoming book called \u201cDon\u2019t Mimic Me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mikayla Holmgren and Marlana Vanhoose were among the other speakers and performers at the \u2028conference.<\/p>\n<p>Holmgren competed in the 2017 Miss USA pageant as Miss Minnesota, and took the stage wearing a white dress and a flower crown. She performed a dance to the song \u201cBeautiful Me\u201d by Nichole Nordeman. She incorporated gymnastics into her dancing, and received a standing ovation from the crowd as she bowed.<\/p>\n<p>Marlana Vanhoose, born with Cytomegalovirus, performed a musical number. Doctors discovered that she was blind when she was only a few weeks old. She was also diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy, according to her \u2028website.<\/p>\n<p>Her voice pierced a silent crowd as she played the piano and sang \u201cRise Up\u201d by Andra Day. The audience swayed together, using cellphone lights and glow sticks to light up the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>Her second song, \u201cCelebration\u201d by Kool &amp; The Gang, had the audience clapping while standing on their feet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBring your best friends and your leaders too, we\u2019re gonna celebrate Best Buddies with you,\u201d Vanhoose sang to the tune.<\/p>\n<p>Vanhoose wasn\u2019t the only musical act to perform. Sam Piazza, a Best Buddies Ambassador, introduced reVoiced, an a capella group. The group is an avid supporter of Best Buddies and had Piazza star in one of their music videos, which they showed to the audience.<\/p>\n<p>The group emerged on a rising stage as their music video ended and performed \u201cGet Ready\u201d by The Temptations, as well as \u201cHappy\u201d by Pharrell Williams and \u201cI Won\u2019t Give Up\u201d by Jason Mraz.<\/p>\n<p>During the opening ceremony, awards were presented for things like Outstanding High School Chapter, Outstanding College Chapter and Best Buddies Job Employee of the Year. A torch sat front and center on the stage as a reminder of the conference\u2019s theme as the speeches and awards were given.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven though I have disabilities, I have abilities,\u201d Best Buddies Ambassador Katie Meade said in her speech.<\/p>\n<p>Best Buddies is an inclusive group, and is still working to expand and reach more people. By the end of 2020, Best Buddies hopes to have offices in all 50 states and expand to 100 countries, the organization said in a press release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been in a lot of clubs. I\u2019ve done a lot of things. I\u2019ve been a lot of places,\u201d said Evan Carnes, an incoming freshman majoring in Law and Public policy. \u201cBut few things feel quite as invigorating as just being here, just shouting until you lose your voice, like I will here soon, and just seeing everyone smiling coming from all corners of the world for the same cause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To read the full story click <a href=\"http:\/\/Megan Bomgaars, a self-advocate, artist and entrepreneur with Down syndrome, performs a speech called &quot;Don't Limit Me&quot;. &quot;Don't limit me by thinking that I can\u2019t learn in your classroom,&quot; Bomgaars said. The energy level was high in the IU Auditorium on Friday as attendees to the 28th annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference screamed chants and waved glow sticks, and ushers and volunteers gave high fives to participants as they entered. Thousands gathered at IU for the conference this year, the theme of which was \u201cPass the Torch,\u201d emphasizing the importance of preparing and empowering future leaders. Best Buddies International, a non-profit with more than 2,300 chapters in nearly 50 countries, is dedicated to creating opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. \u201cBest Buddies is so great because it provides opportunities to so many different kids, adults and teens that might not have had the chance to make friendships with so many different people,\u201d said Katie Nettee, a peer-buddy from Maryland. The organization was founded by Anthony K. Shriver in 1984 and provides eight flagship programs that affect more than 1.1 million\u2028individuals with and without disabilities worldwide, \u2028according to its website. Best Buddies Jobs is one of those eight programs. It is a supported employment program that secures paying jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, enabling them to work as respected individuals. Wayne Reed, a Best Buddies ambassador and member of the jobs program, has spoken at previous leadership \u2028conventions. \u201cThis summer is the upcoming anniversary of five years since I\u2019ve done my first award-winning speech in front of everybody in the auditorium,\u201d he said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have done it without the help of the state of Maryland, my fellow staff and my teachers supporting me.\u201d At an opening ceremony, a DJ from Florida played loud, energized music as attendees already inside danced and sang along to songs like \u201cAll I Do is Win\u201d by DJ Khaled and \u201cCupid Shuffle\u201d. Purple spotlights flashed on the stage, and moving colors on the wall created a soft atmosphere, though the energy was anything but. \u201cEverybody\u2019s hands go up,\u201d T-Pain sang on the track as members of the audience collectively raised their hands. Once 8 p.m. hit, the lights dimmed and intense music started to play. Four Buddies walked out carrying torches as peer-buddies accompanied them with flags. After the music stopped and they paused on stage, sparks flew and Shriver walked out to say a few words. \u201cThe days of feeling sorry for our special friends, the days of charity work, the days of \u2018oh how can I help them get ahead, how can I hold their hand, how can I set the table for them,\u2019 those days are over,\u201d Shriver said in his speech as the audience cheered. Shriver touched on this year\u2019s theme, saying that passing the torch is important because it is inclusive. \u201cEverything that we\u2019re doing in our organization is led by, driven by, inspired by, motivated by and energized by the brain power, the will, the drive and the determination of our special friends,\u201d Shriver said before introducing Megan Bomgaars. Bomgaars is featured on the A&amp;E TV show \u201cBorn This Way\u201d, and was the first cheerleader in Colorado to compete with Down syndrome. Bomgaars was visibly nervous, taking deep breaths before beginning her speech. The crowd jumped in to reassure her. \u201cYou got it Meg!\u201d someone yelled from the back of the audience as members cheered for her. After a few deep breaths and the encouragement of her peers, Bomgaars began her speech. \u201cIt is a big honor to be here speaking with Best Buddies today,\u201d Bomgaars said. \u201cI want to share with you my dreams and goals.\u201d Bomgaars, 23, and a student at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, talked about her experiences paying her own taxes and writing an upcoming book called \u201cDon\u2019t Mimic Me.\u201d Mikayla Holmgren and Marlana Vanhoose were among the other speakers and performers at the \u2028conference. Holmgren competed in the 2017 Miss USA pageant as Miss Minnesota, and took the stage wearing a white dress and a flower crown. She performed a dance to the song \u201cBeautiful Me\u201d by Nichole Nordeman. She incorporated gymnastics into her dancing, and received a standing ovation from the crowd as she bowed. Marlana Vanhoose, born with Cytomegalovirus, performed a musical number. Doctors discovered that she was blind when she was only a few weeks old. She was also diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy, according to her \u2028website. Her voice pierced a silent crowd as she played the piano and sang \u201cRise Up\u201d by Andra Day. The audience swayed together, using cellphone lights and glow sticks to light up the crowd. Her second song, \u201cCelebration\u201d by Kool &amp; The Gang, had the audience clapping while standing on their feet. \u201cBring your best friends and your leaders too, we\u2019re gonna celebrate Best Buddies with you,\u201d Vanhoose sang to the tune. Vanhoose wasn\u2019t the only musical act to perform. Sam Piazza, a Best Buddies Ambassador, introduced reVoiced, an a capella group. The group is an avid supporter of Best Buddies and had Piazza star in one of their music videos, which they showed to the audience. The group emerged on a rising stage as their music video ended and performed \u201cGet Ready\u201d by The Temptations, as well as \u201cHappy\u201d by Pharrell Williams and \u201cI Won\u2019t Give Up\u201d by Jason Mraz. During the opening ceremony, awards were presented for things like Outstanding High School Chapter, Outstanding College Chapter and Best Buddies Job Employee of the Year. A torch sat front and center on the stage as a reminder of the conference\u2019s theme as the speeches and awards were given. \u201cEven though I have disabilities, I have abilities,\u201d Best Buddies Ambassador Katie Meade said in her speech. Best Buddies is an inclusive group, and is still working to expand and reach more people. By the end of 2020, Best Buddies hopes to have offices in all 50 states and expand to 100 countries, the organization said in a press release. \u201cI\u2019ve been in a lot of clubs. I\u2019ve done a lot of things. I\u2019ve been a lot of places,\u201d said Evan Carnes, an incoming freshman majoring in Law and Public policy. \u201cBut few things feel quite as invigorating as just being here, just shouting until you lose your voice, like I will here soon, and just seeing everyone smiling coming from all corners of the world for the same cause.\u201d\">here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Megan Bomgaars, a self-advocate, artist and entrepreneur with Down syndrome, performs a speech called &#8220;Don&#8217;t Limit Me&#8221;. &#8220;Don&#8217;t limit me by thinking that I can\u2019t learn in your classroom,&#8221; Bomgaars said. The energy level was high in the IU Auditorium on Friday as attendees to the Best Buddies Leadership Conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":95238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"news-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[676],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-archive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Best Buddies Gathers for 28th Annual Leadership Convention - Best Buddies International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Buddies Gathers for 28th Annual Leadership Convention - Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Megan Bomgaars, a self-advocate, artist and entrepreneur with Down syndrome, performs a speech called &quot;Don&#039;t Limit Me&quot;. &quot;Don&#039;t limit me by thinking that I can\u2019t learn in your classroom,&quot; Bomgaars said. The energy level was high in the IU Auditorium on Friday as attendees to the Best Buddies Leadership Conference.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Buddies International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-27T18:43:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-15T21:20:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Megan.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Best Buddies Gathers for 28th Annual Leadership Convention\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-27T18:43:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-15T21:20:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/\"},\"wordCount\":1109,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Megan.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News Archive\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/2017\/07\/27\/best-buddies-gathers-28th-annual-leadership-convention\/\",\"name\":\"Best Buddies Gathers for 28th Annual Leadership Convention - 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