​Aurora Rae​

Born a month early, Heather Hanley did not know what her first son, Caleb Ross would be capable of. Now, 36 years later, he is an accomplished Special Olympics athlete and helps out his community in more ways than one. Ross began SO when he was around eight years old. The year he started, the teams were full but there was an event in Ithaca he and his mom were invited to. That was just the beginning of it. Since then, he's been involved with over a dozen sports offered by SO: bocce ball, flag football, soccer, softball, basketball, horseshoe, skiing, snowshoeing, poly hockey, dodgeball, kickball, bowling and volleyball. Basketball is his favorite. Caleb's three brothers, John, Joe and David have supported him along the way and at times, even coached some of his teams. Nonetheless, Hanley said David specifically is Caleb's biggest supporter and always wants to know when his next games are. Caleb also helps out at the Strickler Center's food drive twice per week, attends church on Sundays and works for Mid-Michigan Industries where he does trash pickup and passes out Central Michigan Life newspapers every two weeks. He loves helping his community and his peers appreciate him equally as much.