Pinellas' Special Olympics pioneer to retire June 30

"Grandma's going to rest for a while,'' says Emily Brazeal, 63, who is credited with making the county's program one of the state's best.

By LAURA HEINAUER

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 18, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- "Ms. Emily," as she has been known to thousands of athletes across three decades, is retiring this month as head of the Pinellas County chapter of the Special Olympics.

"I feel like I have more than a thousand grandchildren," said Emily Brazeal, who is 63. "We're like one big happy family here. It's just that grandma's going to rest for a while."

She brought Special Olympics to the county in the early 1970s. Her last day is June 30.

"There are times when you either laugh yourself to death or cry yourself to sleep," she said. "But I won't get emotional on the last day. I'm the type to do it behind the concession stand, after the parade goes by."

Having no children of her own, Brazeal has dedicated her life to her athletes. As county coordinator, she organized the volunteers, scheduling and transportation. She was also the one athletes would go to for help. She always made sure there were enough hot dog buns and soda for everyone.

Today, Brazeal runs a tight, hands-on operation with more than 700 registered athletes participating in 16 different sports.

Willis Williams, 29, is one of them. He took his first airplane ride last year to participate in the Special Olympics World Games in North Carolina. That experience was one of many he thought he would never have, one of many he owes to Ms. Emily.

To Williams, she is like a mother. Williams said he didn't get out of his house much until Brazeal came and visited him and his mother when he was in ninth grade and encouraged her to let him join.

"Ever since that time, I've been happy," he said.

Having a knack for remembering dates and names, Brazeal also possesses a certain wit and charm that helps her get things done and garners respect -- not only from her co-workers, but from the athletes as well.

"All we have to say is, "We'll tell Ms. Emily,' " said assistant coordinator John Neel, who was brought in two years ago to help with the retirement transition.

That respect comes from her belief in discipline and fair play, Brazeal said.

"Three-fourths of the time I have fun, and one-fourth of the time I am serious," she said. "They all know about the one-fourth serious part."

That combination has made the Pinellas County organization one of the most successful in Florida. Brazeal was inducted as a charter member of the Special Olympics Hall of Fame in 1993 and a recipient of the Bill Krutchfield award in 1991. Krutchfield was the first executive director of Florida Special Olympics Inc.

"She has the ability to relate to anyone and manipulate without them knowing she's getting what she wants for her kids," Neel said. Brazeal was a middle school physical education teacher before she moved from Alabama to the area in 1970 to take a teaching job at Nina Harris Exceptional Student Center. Shortly after, Brazeal organized the county's first Special Olympics athletic organization for the mentally retarded.

That first year, 50 athletes from Pinellas county competed at the regional level, and 12 athletes made it to the state meet in Miami. In 1972, Florida Special Olympics became incorporated, and Brazeal was officially named Pinellas county coordinator.

David Haines, who has worked as the case manager for the physically impaired at Tyrone Middle School for the past four years and volunteered as a Special Olympics coach for 11 years, will officially take over as the county supervisor Aug. 17.

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