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“When we volunteer and work with the coaches, there are a lot of educators because you get [many of] your pool of athletes from school-age kids,” she said. “We’ve always been around educators, administrators and everything. My dad, once upon a time, used to be a principal. I really do enjoy giving back and working with young people, and that led me to wanting to go into education.”
After graduating from high school in 2008, Beth has obtained two bachelor’s degrees and recently completed a master’s degree in education. She is now in her second year as a teacher at Lonoke Middle School, where she teaches an EAST Lab, sponsors the Crown Club and helps with color-guard instruction.
She also volunteers her time with the Junior Auxiliary of Cabot, is an active member of Cabot United Meth- odist Church and remains involved in Special Olympics Arkansas every chance she gets.
“I always wished for a child that knew their mind, and I got it,” Doyle said.
Bo and Beth were married in June 2014 and will be first-time parents in a few months. The two are ex- pecting a girl, and Beth said she will be happy to pass down the importance of volunteerism to her children by simply leading by example, as her dad did.
“[My dad] always raised me to know you give back,” Beth said. “That is just what you do. Whatever you do, you do it 100 percent and you give back to your com- munity, and that is what I will do with my kids — I’ll lead them to do it by me doing it myself.”
Local Polar Plunge events support Special Olympics Arkansas
The Polar Plunge is a fundraiser in which individuals and teams take the plunge into various bodies of water — typically cold water — to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Arkansas.
Special Olympics Arkansas was incorporated as a nonprofit, 501 (c) (3) organization in 1974, and its mission is to provide year-round sports training and Olympic-type competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Arkansas. Currently, more than 14,000 athletes participate in training and compete in a year-round program of 20 sports.
Upcoming dates for the Polar Plunge include the following: • Feb. 21 – The Econo Lodge in Searcy;
• Feb. 28 – JFK Park in Batesville; and
• Feb. 28 – The Cabot Community Pond in Cabot.
For more information or to register, visit www.specialolympics arkansas.org.
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Sunday, February 8, 2015 • An Advertising Supplement to the Three Rivers Edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette • What Women Want • 7SS
The Special Olympics athletes love
you for who you are. They don’t care anything
about you other than you are there and supporting them. They are just full of love, and that is what you get when you are there. That is one of the coolest things about it.”
BETH HICKS
OF CABOT
PHOTO BY EILISH PALMER/THREE RIVERS EDITION
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Left: Both Hicks is pictured with her father, Bobby Doyle, at the VIP reception for the 2014 Special Olympics Arkansas Summer Games. This was the last Special Olympics event Hicks attended with her father before his death in November 2014. Top, right: Bo and Beth Hicks were married in June and will welcome their first child in a few months. Beth said she plans to pass on the value of volunteerism to her children by leading as an example. Bottom, right: Beth is pictured with Special Olympics Arkansas athlete Derek Smith at a central-Arkansas fundraising event. As a nonprofit organization, Spe- cial Olympics Arkansas relies heavily on events such as this.