I have known the Loner family for a long time — another one of those relationships born and forged through baseball.
They are a great family that gives so much back to our community. It was a few weeks back when I caught up with mom, Patty, and son, Sean, at Bowman Field during a Penn College baseball game. A couple of weeks later, Dad, Lester stopped by my office to talk baseball and much more.

See, Lester has graciously given 44 years of his life to the Special Olympics and is a very humble man. But on this Friday afternoon, he wanted to fill me in on a great experience he was blessed with through the organization.

I should first fill you in on a little of Lester’s background; he is a Special Olympics coach for cross-country running and also covers cross-country skiing. He not only coaches the Special Olympics athletes from our area but also extends his efforts to those from around our state and Nation. He has been to several Special Olympics World Games. Most recently, he was the head cross-country skiing coach for the United States delegation, which was held in South Korea.

Although he would never tell you, Lester is one of the top Special Olympics coaches. He volunteers worldwide and always makes time for whatever the organization asks of him. He’s even coached athletes from other nations when needed.

There are over 142,000 coaches within Special Olympics North America that provide instruction at a local level and competitions that cover 32 sports.

Lester’s outstanding coaching, but even more importantly, the love that he has provided to these athletes, resulted in him being the recipient of the 2024 Annette Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award for coaching. This honor includes a monetary award that goes directly toward the Coach Education Program within Pennsylvania to help mold future coaches to work with these special athletes.
Lester received his award from the CEO and President of Pennsylvania Special Olympics, Matt Aaron. Mr. Aaron represented Greg Epperson, the president and manager director of the Special Olympics North America. Simply put, this is a really big deal and a great honor for a local coach who has gone above and beyond.

Now, folks, that gets us to the rest of the story, which I find most interesting.

Lester, unaware of going to receive the award during a mental awareness event that included Governor Shapiro and his wife, was surprised when he met the governor and he stated, “You’re the Lester.” Of course, he wondered how the governor knew him — well, it became obvious it was due to the award he was about to receive and his lifetime of work for the Special Olympics.

In true Lester Loner fashion, when I asked him about the award and the event, he said it was due to the volunteers, coaches, and especially all the athletes he has worked with over the years and that he has been very blessed to be able to travel and see places around the world he would have never gone to if it wasn’t for these Special Olympics athletes.

A Webb Weekly tip of the cap with the American flag on the side to my good friend Lester Loner. Thank you for representing our little corner of God’s Green Earth with such love and compassion.

If you would like to give to the Special Olympics with the gift of time or a donation, call 570-323-0145 or visit Special Olympics PA Team Lycoming on Facebook.

Let’s all be safe out there and try to help our fellow man.

God Bless America.