GREAT FALLS — The Flame of Hope made its way through Great Falls last week on the way to Bozeman for the Special Olympics Montana State Summer Games as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run.
It was raining like crazy in the Electric City, but that didn’t stop Black Hornets athlete Nick Roberts from bundling up and limbering up before making his way to Riverside park with his teammates.
“The rain is nothing to me,” Nick laughed. “I have done things in rain like this. It’s no big problem.”
That’s because he has an important job on this day. Nick Roberts was recently named an Law Enforcement Torch Run ambassador at the annual SOMT LETR conference in Fairmont earlier this spring.
“I went to the LETR conference and they surprised me there,” Nick recalled. “They didn’t tell me nothing. And then boom they surprised me, it was crazy.”
Statewide there are three LETR ambassadors that serve on the torch run Executive Committee for three year terms.
“They’re in charge of giving the athletes voices and then also giving presentations and helping spread the mission from an athlete perspective throughout our state,” said LETR Development Director Amy Bliss. “So they have a really, really important role. And we're just so grateful to work with athletes like Nick.”
And as a lifelong friend of law enforcement, being an ambassador is not a role Nick takes lightly.
“They’re pretty cool and awesome,” he said. “It really means a lot because it’s something new for me to do”
And his personality makes him the perfect candidate.
“My favorite part about Nick is every time I see him he just says ‘Amy, it's so great to see you’,” Bliss said. “And so he just has that contagious personality and positivity and helps bridge that gap even further and create an inclusive world for all.”
Rain or shine, Nick will be there, with a smile on his face.
