LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) announced today the appointment of Bill Shumard as its new President/Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2005.
"We are very fortunate to have someone of Bill Shumard's caliber to help lead Special Olympics Southern California," said Patrick McClenahan, Chairman of Special Olympics Southern California's Board of Directors and Senior Vice-President/Station Manager of KCBS and KCAL-TV. "His experience, knowledge, and people skills make him perfect to lead this organization. Our Special Olympics athletes, dedicated staff and invaluable volunteers should be very optimistic about our future."
As a seasoned sports executive with three decades of experience in the Southern California area -- including stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers, USC, Cal State Fullerton and most recently Long Beach State, where he has served ten years as Executive Director of Athletics --Shumard brings a new level of expertise as well as a strong professional network to Special Olympics Southern California.
"I look forward to the opportunity to lead Special Olympics Southern California at a key time in its history and at a peak time in my own career," said Shumard. "I am especially excited about the opportunity to help Special Olympics Southern California reach its vision of being known as a first-rate, sports organization. There is a mutual commitment that will allow us to grow together and move forward into the future to further this great cause. I'm looking forward to reaping the emotional benefits that come with this leadership position."
Shumard is already familiar with many of organization's benefits, having served as a member of Special Olympics Southern California Board of Directors since 1999. He was instrumental in bringing the Special Olympics Summer Games to the Long Beach State campus, where they have taken place for the past seven years. He leaves his alma mater as the second-longest tenured Athletics Director in university history. During his tenure, nearly $20 million was raised in outside support for the program; the graduation rate for student-athletes tripled to an all-time high of 53%; and his program's teams finished in the nation's top 100 in overall competitiveness on five different occasions.
Shumard is a member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Sports Council and the Governing Council of the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership on the LBSU campus. Shumard is also the Chair of the university's Advisory Board to its Graduate Program in Sports Management -- a program he helped found five years ago.
Shumard and his wife, Kim, reside in Brea and have three sons (David, Matthew and Michael); two daughters-in-law (Adriana and Jessica); and two granddaughters (Isabella and Sofia).
Special Olympics Southern California serves over 10,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities in an eleven county region of Southern California. The program offers year-round sports training and athletic competition in 23 individual and team sports. Special Olympics athletes range in age from 8 to 80. SOSC in one of 52 accredited Special Olympics entities operating in the United States. For more information about Special Olympics Southern California, please visit www.sosc.org.