“I Wanted to Be a Sports Broadcaster”
Jamie talks about his dream job, pizza – and Eunice Shriver
By Kathleen Stauffer
Broccoli. Sausage. Bacon. Gluten-free crust. A good pizza and a TV sports show is all Jamie needs on a Saturday night. “I’m a wrestling fan, all right? I admit it. Over the weekend, I watched a match that was a mix of wrestling and martial arts. It was so creative. More mat-based. Life imitating art. It wasn’t the goofiness of the WWE. It was fun.”
Growing up, Jaime wanted to be a sports broadcaster. In 1995, he got his wish when WFSB-Channel 8 tapped him to report on the Special Olympic World Games in New Haven. “My philosophy of broadcasting is telling stories, educating people. As an advocate, I kind of am doing that in a more important role.”
Jamie works as Self Advocate Coordinator for The Arc Eastern Connecticut, teaching classes to about 40 people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). Topics are broad, from employment tips to Special Olympics roundups to instruction for testifying at the Capitol.
“First, state your name. State what bill you are testifying on, then give a short paragraph about why that bill is important or could be a problem for you. You have three minutes, so keep it short!”
Jamie enjoys reading. “I am a B-I-I-G-G reader: Sports biographies, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Churchill’s biography, Bill Clinton’s biography.” His all-time favorite is Charlotte’s Web. Why? Because the children’s classic illustrates what Jamie does daily. “Charlotte and Wilbur advocated for themselves,” he explains.
Jamie lives in a Hampton in-law apartment. His parents, Dawn and Ed, reside upstairs. He wants everyone to know that people with IDD are not “wrong” or “weird.” And, parents of kids with IDD needn’t worry so much. “Your kids are going to be all right. Let kids be kids and they will find their way in the world.”
Eunice Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, is among Jamie’s heroes. “She had an infectious energy. She was like a whirlwind coming into a room. She could fill a room with positive energy and transform it.”
Jamie has his own theory of positivity. “Go where you are celebrated,” he says, “not where you are tolerated.”
Kathleen Stauffer is chief executive officer of The Arc Eastern Connecticut. For information on The Arc, go to www.thearcnlc.org and www.qvarc.org. For more articles by this author visit www.kathleenstauffer.com
