GOING for Gold

Winter has always been a time to shine for Jeanne Marie Ulmer, a resident of the Bleiler Caring Cottage at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown, and this year she had a golden season.

Jeanne earned two medals for cross-country skiing in the 500M and 1K races at the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Winter Games. With 30 years of competing under her belt, she is “the oldest female long-distance cross-country skier in Pennsylvania,” according to her mother, Jean Ulmer. This is the last year she plans to compete in crosscountry skiing, as she turns her focus to swimming.

The Winter Games feature alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing events. Hundreds of athletes, as well as coaches and volunteers from across Pennsylvania, participated. The Special Olympics provides training and competitive events for persons with intellectual disabilities who are age 8 and older. The games are free for participants and funded by donations and fundraisers.

Jeanne started with the Special Olympics in 1988, when as the attendee of a small private school with no intellectually challenged individuals except herself, she competed, and the other students participated as “buddies” (those who assist athletes in getting to their races and cheer them on). She began with track and field events, softball throw, running races, etc. Later, she added basketball, floor hockey, golf, softball, bowling and swimming to her events.

She has been competing in cross-country skiing since 1992, led by her parents, Jean and Bob, who became certified coaches. The training started when they lived in Tioga County before moving to Elizabethtown in 2004. Jeanne has also attended PA State Summer Games for swimming and track and field and has been in many local and regional competitions for other sports.

In 2005, Jeanne was chosen to represent the United States at the Special Olympics World Games in Nagano, Japan, the site of the 1998 Olympics. She was one of six athletes from Pennsylvania and the only cross-country skier to attend the 10-day event. She competed alongside 33 athletes from the United States and earned a silver medal for the 4 x 1K relay, as well as fourth place and seventh place ribbons. She also made more than 100 keychains to hand out to athletes and volunteers. Beyond competing, she stayed in a Japanese village, interacted with townspeople, attended special events, ate Japanese food and learned a few words in Japanese.

“Japan has always been a special place for her since we lived there when her dad was in the Navy. She was one month shy of being born in Japan, and her brother was stationed aboard a Navy ship in Sasebo, Japan, while she was at the games.” bus person in Café 1911 on campus and looks forward to opportunities to expand her role. She also likes participating with the Elizabethtown College Best Buddies program and attending St. Paul’s Church.

Over the last 30 years, Jeanne has earned well over 100 medals, although Jean admits they lost count. Jeanne also served as a Global Messenger Athlete and has spoken publicly about her experiences. Making friends has always been as important to Jeanne as earning medals.

“We are extremely proud of Jeanne and all the accomplishments she has made,” Jean said. “Special Olympics has enabled her to develop her physical abilities and has provided activities for her leisure time. It’s not just about her achievements. It’s more about the social interactions and experiences she’s had that she wouldn’t have had otherwise. We’ve seen her self-esteem grow from participating over the years.”

Jeanne moved to the Bleiler Caring Cottage in 2010. She works as a

Jeanne’s future looks bright as she continues her accomplishments in competition and in life.

Celebrating A Quarter Century

Masonic Village’s Bleiler Caring Cottage is celebrating 25 years in 2023. It began as Lancaster County’s only in-home respite care facility in 1998. A year later, the first permanent residents moved in, and the respite care program was eliminated in 2003. Today, the eight residents of the Bleiler Caring Cottage work, volunteer and generally enjoy life on and off campus, with involvement in programs like Elizabethtown College Best Buddies, Special Olympics Pennsylvania and Night to Shine through the Tim Tebow Foundation. Many generous donors contribute to the Bleiler Caring Cottage, including Masonic Village residents Ken and Elaine Bleiler (parents of Bleiler Caring Cottage resident Debbie Bleiler), who established the Bleiler Caring Cottage Endowment Fund in 2002. Funds from Elaine’s angel pin sales also support the cottage.

Residents, staff and donors celebrated the anniversary together at a special dinner and program on April 27.