U of A Graduate, Professor Helping Put on Special Olympics World Games LA2015

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Steve Dittmore and Jenny Higgs are working in media and spectator services, respectively, this week in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Jenny Higgs graduated three years ago with a recreation and sport management degree from the University of Arkansas. This week she is supervising more than 500 volunteers as a hub manager for spectator services at the Special Olympics World Games LA2015.

The Games are the largest sporting event to come to the United States since the 1984 Olympics. More than 6,500 athletes with cognitive disabilities are coming from 165 countries to compete during the nine-day event at 25 sports venues in Los Angeles. About 500,000 spectators are expected across all nine days and all venues.

Higgs, who grew up in Conway, completed internships with the Tiger Woods Foundation, the Houston Astros, the LA Galaxy, the Sporting Kansas City professional soccer clubs and twice with the Arkansas Razorbacks athletic department, in both media relations and events. She completed an accelerated master's degree program in sports management offered by California State University in Long Beach and worked for the U.S. Soccer Federation before taking a staff position with the Special Olympics.

"A career like Jenny is having is possible for any of our students," said Steve Dittmore, associate professor of recreation and sport management in the College of Education and Health Professions. 

Higgs credits Dittmore for her success, and she said his experience and connections in the field of sports public relations opened doors for her. The two have reunited at the Special Olympics, where Dittmore is working as a contracted media director at the games. 

The recreation and sport management program requires students to complete internships, and Higgs said faculty members learn what students want to do when helping them secure internships.

"I am very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to meet a lot of influential people in and out of the sport world," she said. "I believe the biggest professional growth I've had was with the Tiger Woods Foundation. I was able to travel around the country and assist in the setup of multiple events. At the end of the day, it was reassuring to know that all of the work you put forth was to benefit children at the Tiger Woods Learning Center."

In her job with the Special Olympics organizing committee, Higgs' responsibility is to provide the best possible experience for spectators, athletes and anyone else attending the Games.

"Ultimately, we want to make sure that all of those attending the Games in LA walk away with a lasting impression of their experience at our event," Higgs said.

But the committee also wants to educate the public about cognitive or intellectual disabilities while showcasing sports excellence.

"We want to make sure that we create awareness that leads to acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities," Higgs said. "And, we are hopeful that this event will do just that."

Higgs played soccer for 14 years and knew she wanted a career that revolved around sports. She started as an advertising and public relations major but decided that recreation and sport management would be a better fit for her.

During the Games, she is responsible for three major sporting events: basketball, track and field, and aquatics. She is also overseeing the World Games Festival at the University of Southern California and the Healthy Athletes program that provides free medical exams for athletes.

She spent weeks making plans for deployment of volunteers during all these events, and her division handles emergencies, questions and any problems spectators may have.

"Nothing, to me, is more rewarding than combining my love of sport with my passion for nonprofit," Higgs said. "I've been fortunate enough to get to experience that feeling again while working for the Special Olympics World Games LA2015. I can't wait to meet the athletes, families, guests and spectators who will all get to share in enjoying this once-in-a lifetime event."

For Dittmore the Special Olympics will be both a chance to share his expertise and a learning experience that he can take back to the classroom. 

"My role is to oversee communications and media operations at the swimming venue at the University of Southern California, which has the pool that was used in the 1984 summer Olympic Games," Dittmore said. "The Special Olympics are more about the triumph of the human spirit than about winning medals. My job will be less about ensuring access to individual athletes because this is more of a visual story. We anticipate a lot of photojournalists and fewer sports beat writers."

ESPN will broadcast a nightly highlight package during the Games, which started with the opening ceremony July 25 and conclude Aug. 2.

It's Dittmore's first time to work at the Special Olympics, although he has worked the Paralympic Games, which feature athletes with physical disabilities. Some of his former colleagues during his time as a staff member for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and the 1996 Olympic Games are staff members of the Special Olympics World Games LA2015. The organizing committee issued media credentials to a record 1,500 media representatives.

Dittmore co-authored a textbook called Sport Public Relations: Managing Stakeholder Communication, published by Human Kinetics in 2012.

"I haven't worked a major event since 2002 so this will give me a good perspective on how things have changed as far as media service delivery at a major multinational sporting event," Dittmore said. "For instance, wireless interactive connectivity was not a part of the 2002 Olympic Games. How journalists report and transmit stories in today's environment is different than when I last worked the Olympics. I want to better reflect that change in the classroom."

One of his responsibilities at the Special Olympics will be to help educate media about language preferred by people with disabilities such as not describing them as unfortunate or victims.

"The Special Olympics is about competing the same as individuals who do not have some sort of intellectual disability," Dittmore said. "The media communique we share helps promote that through thoughtful choice of words."