With her family and first gym teacher looking on, Denise Carriere of Andover cried when she learned she will be named to the Massachusetts Special Olympics Hall of Fame.
An employee of Memorial Hall Library for almost 11 years, Carriere, 33, was surprised at work on Jan. 24 with the announcement. Representatives of the state Special Olympics said she was given the prestigious honor because of her gold medal athleticism and gift for public speaking.
"I had no idea. I knew I was nominated, but I am shocked," she said through tears as she lifted her eyeglasses and received a bouquet of colorful balloons, a dozen pink roses and a certificate congratulating her.
Carriere has been a Special Olympian for 26 years, she said, and has collected many gold medals for swimming, her favorite sport. She has also competed in track, basketball and soccer. She is on the board of directors for the state's Special Olympics and is a global messenger for the group. A lifelong town resident who lives in a downtown apartment and walks to work, she tells her story to the public often, she said, regardless of the crowd size. A group of 4,000 teachers in Boston was most intimidating to speak in front of, so far.
"That's a lot of people to talk in front of," Carriere laughed. "I thought there would be like 3,000."
But she did a terrific job, and a Special Olympics representative said the organization always receives wonderful notes after events featuring Denise Carriere.
"She is a very special athlete," said Diane Agganis of the state's Special Olympics North Section, who attended the announcement ceremony. "She exemplifies what Special Olympics is all about. She is so alive, so active ..."
Carriere will be honored on April 5 at a Special Olympics gala on the track at Harvard University. It's a black tie and sneaker event and will also mark the group's 40th anniversary. Two others will be honored, but Special Olympics officials were mum on their identities as the honorees do not know yet. (They are not from Andover.)
What they do know is that Carriere will be the 18th Special Olympics Hall of Famer recognized in the state. She said the recognition was "such an honor," althought it's not her only award. Carriere was named to the "Heroes Among Us" by the Boston Celtics Association.
Her personal story, which she shares at speaking engagements, began when she contracted meningitis at just 5 days old.
"The prognosis was grim, right?" her mother, Marilyn Carriere, formerly of Andover, said as she turned to Denise's grandmother, who asked to be referred to as Mrs. Peter (Mary) Carriere. "But she fought to live."
The meningitis caused permanent developmental problems for this young woman, who now coaches swimming for young Special Olympians-in-the-making at the Andover/North AndoverYMCA pool on Haverhill Street.
Carriere remembers her first gym teacher in Andover bringing her to the Special Olympics for the first time. It was 1982 and she was 8.
"I ran the 50-yard dash and threw the softball," she recalled.
That gym teacher was Dave Nichols, now the co-athletic director at Andover High School. He was on hand for the ceremony at Memorial Hall LIbrary and he, too, remembers Denise Carriere's first Special Olympics.
"She's a great kid and her whole family is terrific," he said after the ceremony. "Everyone is very happy for her."
