Personal experience has always been a catalyst for Nancy Vierkant's passions.
Her experience relocating for her husband's job drew her to a real estate career with a focus on family relocation in northwest Iowa. And her special needs daughter's drive and enjoyment for participating in the Special Olympics led Nancy to spearhead a fundraising opportunity for Megan's team for the past 13 years.
"As agents, we are a vital part of our community," she said. "By giving back and showing that you want to be involved, that you love where you work, love where you play."
Nancy, her husband Jeff, and daughters, Megan, Maddie, and Allison landed in northwest Iowa in 2005 and quickly fell in love with their beautiful surroundings and the welcoming community. Part of that community began at the local school, where Megan was introduced to the Special Olympics.
"We had never really heard about Special Olympics but one teacher asked if we'd be interested in having her participate," she recalls. "She started with track and field in the spring, and we did that for a while before discovering basketball, golf, bowling, cycling. Now it's a year-long competition."
From there, the Vierkants involvement in the Special Olympics grew, finally becoming a family affair. Megan participates in a variety of events, including cycling and golf, both of which can be completed as a unified sport. A unified sport is when an adult is paired with a special needs athlete to participate as a team, allowing both of Megan's sisters to participate.
The Vierkants were even named Volunteer Family of the Year by Special Olympics Iowa in 2015.
“The weather in Northwest Iowa can be a challenge," Nancy recalls. "Outdoor events get canceled about 50% of the time and it's heartbreaking to see all these athletes and families so excited, then they would get canceled because of the weather. I kept saying there has to be a better plan. We can’t have these athletes practicing for weeks to have their only event cancelled.” That statement started the wheels turning to look for another option.
Nancy reached out to the Spirit Lake YMCA to see about hosting the regional North Area Special Olympics track and field events in the early spring at their venue. Now the teams have an indoor option if outdoor competition isn't possible.
But finding a new venue for Special Olympics competitions isn't where Nancy's involvement ends. For the past 13 years, she's helped to spearhead an annual fundraising event that brings the Special Olympics and Spirit Lake communities together.
Get Up And Bowl was born out of a chance encounter between Nancy's family and a local radio DJ who noticed Megan's Special Olympics attire. Adam Eichstedt , a radio host for the Get Up and Go morning show, mentioned that the radio station was looking to help support a local group through a bowling event and asked if Megan's Special Olympics team would be interested.
"I was like 'how do we do this,'" Nancy recalls. "We didn't have a lot of funds as a group, we were scraping things together. Our team wasn't very big, but there are expenses and some families can't afford to pay for lodging or transportation to the state events."
The event involves a silent auction and teams bowling with Special Olympics athletes. Pizza and drinks are also involved, of course. That first year, Nancy recalls, they didn't raise a ton of funds, but they had fun and saw the potential.
While the radio station didn't have the staffing to assist after the second year, the group found additional support from Business Today owner Mike Ross, who had experience running bowling tournaments.
"It really has taken off," Nancy said, noting that the fundraising has brought in more than $20,000 most years. "Mike has been a huge part of it all these years later."
The event has grown to be one of the most well-known in the community. In fact, supporters wait all year to participate in the robust silent auction, while both businesses, families and friends regularly sign-up to participate as a team in a 90 minute bowling window. Get Up and Bowl for Special Olympics has hosted as many as 60 bowling teams some years for this event and has hundreds of silent auction items.
"We have about 40 athletes on the Lake Area Champions adult team, and the funds all go to help them," Nancy says. "We buy equipment, uniforms, and help with transportation. All the funds stay local and help the athletes directly."
While Nancy has stepped back a bit from leading the fundraising event, handing over some tasks to the well-equipped group of volunteers, she's still heavily involved getting sponsors for the event and the gathering items for the silent auction and giving back to a community she loves and where she lives, works and plays.
"You'll find me at events throughout the community," she said. "As a REALTOR®, you're a resource who knows about the area. For me, it's about being involved and knowing the community and showing passion that translates to the job. Many of my clients call me for resources on a consistent basis as they know my ties are deeply intertwined into our community.”