At the heart of every Special Olympics Tennessee (SOTN) event is a sense of community, encouragement and, of course, finding friendship within the competition. SOTN athlete Christina Statum knows that better than anyone. As a long-time athlete in a variety of sports, she found not only competition but also camaraderie with her golf partner, Sam Davidson, at the Unified Fore Joy ProAm at TopGolf Nashville.
“It has been so much fun playing with Sam today,” Statum stated. “He’s a really good hitter, and everyone loves playing with Sam.”
Their partnership at the event was prominent and serves as a good nod to what the community involvement with Special Olympics is really about.
Sam Davidson, a Brentwood native, represented the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at the event. On a professional level, he has been supporting Special Olympics Tennessee for about four years in his adult life, but has been involved since 1995, supporting his sister, who was a Special Olympics athlete. He stated that he really enjoys playing with Statum.
"She is super supportive, even if our team hits a bad shot, she’s telling us it’s okay and we’ll hit a better one next time, said Davidson on Statum. "She’s so funny and super awesome.”
Davidson talked about the significance of Special Olympics and what the Unified Fore Joy event means for the community.
“The biggest thing I can think of is that this is the most inclusive week of golf," said Davidson. "And to have so many people in the Middle Tennessee area coming out to support a great cause, it’s incredible.”
Sam is not only a big advocate for SOTN but would also recommend that anyone come out to see the events and the impact they have on the community.
“Here’s what I tell my folks who have never come to an event or participated in a torch run: Just come out to one event with me, and if you go one time, you’ll come back every time I ask," said Davidson. "And that is just the Torch Run. If you go to a regional or state games and see how special it is for the people participating, you’ll never miss a torch run for the rest of your life.”
