Home Depot : Associate Surprised with Chance to Compete in Special Olympics USA Games

July 11, 2018

Bill Holden hasn't found a sport he doesn't like. And he's mastered nearly a dozen.

But through the Special Olympics, Bill may have found his sweet spot on the turf as the quarterback for the Mississippi flag football team. He's even earned a chance to compete at the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle this month.

'I've been playing in the Special Olympics for a long time,' he says. 'But this is the first time I've been to the nationals.'

When he's not practicing with his team, Bill is a garden sales associate at The Home Depot in Oxford, Mississippi. And his coworkers have been his cheering section for three years.

'They're excited for me and they're encouraging me. They're not supporting just me, they support my whole team,' he says.

When the store learned Bill was heading to the Special Olympics USA Games, they wanted to surprise him with the news.

Store Manager Scott Dees worked with Special Olympics of Mississippi to set up the reveal at the store with several of his coworkers.

'I was at work and I was on my break. And I was like 'what's going on?,'' Bill recalls. 'They handed me the envelope and it was certificate for me to go to Seattle, Washington, a place I've never been before. I was speechless. Shocked.'

Bill says the gesture meant so much that he's dedicating his trip to his coworkers at Home Depot.

'They tell me 'Go Bill, go' and I want them to know I appreciate them,' he says.