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Crusader Chronicles
Joseph (Jay) W. O’Brien ‘93
Jay O’Brien’s professional travels have taken him to Washington, D.C. where he worked on U.S. Senator Ted. Kennedy’s staff and back to Boston, doing public relations for the Red Sox and Major League Baseball. But it’s the Special Olympics that’s got him hooked. The political science major and Massachusetts native now serves as field director with Special Olympics Massachusetts
Q. How did your career path lead you to The Special Olympics?
A. It certainly wasn’t a direct path, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I suppose the highlights include a lengthy stint on Senator Kennedy’s Washington DC staff, a year doing PR for the Red Sox and Major League Baseball, and several years in high-tech marketing communications, both agency-side and in-house at a software start-up. It all changed one day in June 2002 when I volunteered at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Boston, and I was absolutely hooked…A truly life-changing day for me. I joined the organization shortly after and I’ve been with them ever since.
Q. What does a typical day look like in your role?
A. That’s the beauty of my position — you seldom get the same day twice. I’m out in the field just about every day training and working with our volunteer event management teams, our coaches and assistant coaches, and our donors and sponsors. Some people think that we do just one or two big events each year, but the reality is we plan and run more than 120 competitions and fundraisers at the local, regional and state level on a year-round basis, so there’s never a dull moment. Back at the office, I manage a small staff and a half-million dollar budget. It all comes together when we host our big events for our intellectually disabled athletes. To see the smiles on their faces after competing with their peers and getting rewarded for their efforts is an unbelievable sight to see.
Q. What did you study at HC, and how did your studies prepare you for what you do every day?
A. I was a political science major, but the great thing about the liberal arts education at a place like Holy Cross is that it prepares you for just about anything that life has to offer. The critical thinking approach at the core of our Holy Cross education gave me the leadership skills I need to very effectively run my part of this great organization. The math and business skills I gained from my academic and professional experiences really rounded out my resume to get me ready to handle all aspects of my current position.
Q. The current economic crisis must pose special challenges for your organization. How are you dealing with this?
A. Everybody’s feeling the pain of this economic downturn, whether you’re for-profit or non-profit. Our strategy is to continue to innovatively and creatively recruit more people into the organization, and despite the times we’ve been able to do that. In just the past year in southeastern Massachusetts we’ve increased the number of intellectually disabled athletes we serve by a full 25% — from 3,200 in 2007 to more than 4,000 in 2008. With that, we also attract more individual and corporate supporters, and that’s how we survive and even thrive in this economic climate.
Q. The success of your organization is intertwined with the investments made by volunteers. What makes a great volunteer from where you sit?
A. Volunteers truly are the lifeblood of our organization. All told in Massachusetts alone, we have more than 12,000 volunteers helping us plan and run our events, coaching our teams, playing as Unified (non-disabled) partners, and assisting our staff. What makes a great volunteer is that whatever time they can give us – from a single-day volunteer to a weekly coach or planning team member – they are donating their time, energy and enthusiasm to our cause, and for that we’re truly grateful. I say this often, but it always rings true, that our volunteers are the some of the finest people walking the face of the earth.
Q. How can HC alums who want to get involved with Special Olympics get involved?
A. You can easily look up your local chapter through www.specialolympics.org. If you happen to live in Massachusetts, our local sites are specialolympicsma.org and specialolympicsma.org/south. You can also call
(508) 821-3635 or email at jay.obrien@specialolympicsma.org and we’ll hook you up. All I can say is that in some way, it’ll be a life-changing experience for you, just like it was for me
Maura Fredey ’94 is a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors Communications Committee
To suggest a friend or classmate – or yourself! – for a future conversation, e-mail alumni@holycross.edu.