The Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) is the largest public awareness and grassroots fundraising organization for Special Olympics globally. The LETR hold a number of year-round fundraising and awareness events in communities across Canada. The LETR are supported by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), and have been an active partner of Special Olympics Canada since 1987.
The Torch Run™ is the most well-known event that the LETR host. The Torch Run is an event in which officers run the Flame of Hope™ into an Opening Ceremony at local, regional and national competitions. Grown to include a wide range of regional and national events, the LETR have raised more than $ 72 million in Canada, since its inception.
As retired Chief Richard LaMunyon once said, “What started in 1981…as a flicker of hope for Special Olympics has now become a roaring flame of stability for Special Olympics athletes worldwide.”
History of LETR in Canada
The LETR program first began in Wichita, Kansas in 1981. Toronto police officers Chief Jack Marks (Ret’d) and Lorne White (Ret’d) successfully organized the first Torch Run on Canadian soil in Toronto in June 1987. More than 1,100 LETR officers from 36 agencies took part in the event, covering more than 900 kilometres before arriving into Varsity Arena in Toronto to light the flame, signaling the opening of the International Special Olympics Floor Hockey Tournament.
Regional LETR Contacts
To learn more about the Law Enforcement Torch Run, please contact your regional Chapter representative below.
Region XI – Canada
Mark McGugan
LETR International Council
[email protected]
Alberta
Braylon Hyggen
Director
director@[email protected]
Celeste Soete
Liaison, Special Olympics Alberta
[email protected]
British Columbia
Rick Lucy
Director, Abbotsford Police Services
[email protected]
Meg Ishida Liaison, Special Olympics BC
[email protected]
Manitoba
Kristen Tompsett
Director, Manitoba First Nations Police Service
[email protected]
Jennifer Campbell
Liaison, Special Olympics Manitoba
[email protected]
New Brunswick
Brian Cummings
Director, Miramichi Police Force
[email protected]
Jane Mckeown
Liaison, Special Olympics New Brunswick
[email protected]
Newfoundland
Wendy Murphy
Co-Director, Memorial University of Newfoundland
[email protected]
Lynette Wells
Co-Director, Memorial University of Newfoundland
[email protected]
Trish Williams
Liaison, Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador
[email protected]
Nova Scotia
Kim Robinson
Director, Halifax Police Service
r[email protected]
John MacDonald
Liaison, Special Olympics Nova Scotia
[email protected]
Northwest Territories
Heather Cosenzo
Director, YellowKnife RCMP
[email protected]
Lynn Elkin
Liaison, Special Olympics NT
[email protected]
Ontario
Derek Spence
Liaison, Special Olympics Ontario
[email protected]
Karen Richards
Director, York Regional Police Services
[email protected]
Prince Edward Island
Scott Stevenson Co-Chair, Retired, RCMP
Charity Sheehan
Liaison, Special Olympics PEI
[email protected]
Margie Villard
Liaison, Special Olympics PEI
[email protected]
Quebec
Sylvain Chevalier
Acting Deputy Director, Police Department of the City of Mascouche
[email protected]
Ode Caron
Liaison, Special Olympics Quebec
[email protected]
Saskatchewan
Rhonda Meakin
Director, Prince Albert Police
[email protected]
Faye Matt
Liaison, Special Olympics Saskatchewan
[email protected]
Victoria Lacelle
[email protected]
Yukon
Grant MacDonald
Director, RCMP
[email protected]
Liaison, Special Olympics Yukon
[email protected]