MURFREESBORO – It began by bringing together 80,000 athletes for a week of competition in Princeton, NJ.  What it left behind with was a legacy of acceptance and respect for people with intellectual challenges.

It also gave one Hertford County youngster the thrill of a lifetime.

“Amazing,” said Storm Hall. “It was really cool.”

Hall took part in the Special Olympics USA National Games June 14-21.  Thanks to his hard work, grit and determination he made it to New Jersey.  And thanks to the generosity of his many benefactors, he turned that week into the experience of a lifetime.

The fruits of that effort were four winning medals: two gold and two silver, which Storm proudly keeps for display at Powellsville Pet Clinic since his return to North Carolina.

Hall’s participation in Special Olympics began when he was just a fourth-grader at Ahoskie Elementary School, and he never dreamed it would take him to the podium to be crowned an Olympic champion.

“It was during the summer, last summer, that my momma had got the call that I was going to USA Games,” Hall recalls as the teen relates the path that took him to gold. “They gave me a year to prepare for the games.

“They were picking the best athletes in the state of North Carolina to represent Team North Carolina,” Hall said. “It was soccer team, golf team, aquatics, triathlons, bocce, bowling, and athletics.”

Athletics was Hall’s specialty, having initially won ribbons and later medals, first in the Special Olympics regionals and later at state competition in Raleigh.  As a fourth grader he first became a winner in bowling, softball toss, and track-and-field.  One year later as a fifth grader he moved up to shot put and mini-javelin.

“I had to learn the formation for the proper throw, and how to use the strength in my hips,” he relates.

Next came the summer of 2013 at the NC Summer Games in Raleigh where Hall grabbed three first-place medals: mini-javelin, 100-meter run, and shot-put.  He tried for four, but fell to the silver in the long-jump.  Still it was good enough to qualify Hall for the nationals.

The state team used the year in advance to train, and Hall made the most of it.

Locally, Lauri Heckler headed up the Hertford County delegation as she and her daughter, Allie, helped the 14 county Special Olympians prepare for the state games.

“She’s been training me ever since fourth grade when she first gave me a paper to sign up for Special Olympics,” Hall enthused. “She’s been my trainer ever since and she’s been a good one because she jokes around with us; but we still have to get it done right.”

Rochelle Laney coached the state delegation and Hall affectionately gave him the nickname of “Coach Roach”.

“We had to train in 100 degree heat, and I didn’t like it so much,” he says, recalling how he toughed it out through the oppressive summer heat.

Back at home, Hall trained through the fall, winter, and spring at Hertford County Middle School and at the track at Hertford County High.

“We went from training in the heat to training in the cold,” he says with a laugh.

As the time neared, Hall and his family started raising the funds it was going to take for the trip to nationals.

“Mrs. Heckler came up with the idea of making T-shirts,” Hall said. “We started out with 50 and we sold most of them at $12-to-$15 apiece.”

Hall sold $9 barbecue and chicken plates at O’Conner’s Restaurant in Ahoskie for a fund-raiser and then started to gather corporate sponsors.  One of the first was veterinarian Dr. Cheryl Powell, for whom Mrs. Hall worked at the Powellsville Pet Clinic.  The corporate sponsors all pledged $150 apiece.

“I had (the) Clinic, W.T. Jernigan Sons Trucking, Winton Fire Department, and Fred Boyce, who made his pledge in memory of Freddie and Mamie Hall,” Hall said.

There was also a fund raising website created through firstgiving.com.  In all, Hall raised over $2,500, exceeding his original goal.

After attending the state summer games in late May, Hall captured first-place in the mini-javelin and second-place in the 100-meters and the long-jump.  He next went on a training binge for the final two weeks and then it was off to Princeton where the athletes were treated to the finest the GardenState had to offer.

“We went on a cruise that took us to New York,” Hall acknowledged, “where we saw the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.”

Another highlight was the visit to Olympictown in nearby Passaic, NJ where Hall said his big thrill was meeting wrestling legend Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat.

Hall won his mini-javelin preliminary round on June 16, and then on June 19 he roared through all four events.  He captured gold in the shot-put with a toss of 39.3 feet; and gold in the mini-javelin on a throw of 26.7 feet.   Silver medals were won in the long jump thanks to a leap of 19.23 feet and the 100-meter run in a time of 19 seconds; losing the gold medal there by one-tenth of a second.

Triumphantly returning to the Roanoke-Chowan, it was back to his part-time job at Powellsville Pet Clinic.  At the facility Hall cleans animal kennels and shares chores with the feedings.

“Feed dogs, feed cats, feed birds, feed roosters, and I feed horses – big ones and miniatures – and I feed donkeys,” as he proudly names off each task.

Despite this, and a sincere love of animals, Hall says he’s not interested in a career in veterinary science; instead he wants to enlist in the U.S. Army and become a Special Forces soldier.

As his recollections of a great summer conclude, Hall heads off for more duties at the pet clinic; but before leaving he reflects on his fortune, and the influences that got him there.

“I have to really thank my parents and Dr. Powell,” he declares. “When I didn’t believe in myself, they were the ones who believed in me.”