Friday dawned with a flurry of excitement at Northeast Lauderdale High School as students and volunteers populated the track area behind the school to get everything ready for the eager students with special needs who would join in later.

 

Navy Junior ROTC program students sporting neon-colored emblazoned T-shirts shifted from one site to another to ensure everything went smoothly. Tents went up, tables popped open and balloons zoomed upward toward the sky after filling with air. Face-painting stations were mapped out and games were propped up, ready for the first strike (or kick).

 

All these activities ushered in the second annual Trojan Games, an event that arose from a need a couple of men discovered – a lack of opportunities for the special needs students (aka Grade 58 students) within the Northeast Lauderdale family of schools, which includes Northeast Elementary, Northeast Middle and Northeast High School.

 

The Trojan Games came about after the men, one of whom was (now retired) Cmdr. Chad D. West, who now serves as the school’s NJROTC senior naval science instructor, realized they’d found what they saw as a serious problem.

 

“The idea for the games originated more than a decade ago while I was still on active duty with the Navy,” West explained. “I happen to work with a government civilian who was also the local Special Olympics coordinator for the area [where we were] stationed.

 

“My boys were in middle school at the time, and it seemed like a good opportunity to share time with them helping those less fortunate. It proved to be a great experience for all of us. It reminded us of God’s goodness and his blessings in our lives. That experience was powerful and it was something that I wanted to incorporate with the NJROTC cadets after coming aboard at Northeast High School.

 

“Originally, the goal was to find a way to partner with the Special Olympics here in Lauderdale County. However, we discovered that there weren’t many Special Olympics opportunities locally.

 

“[That] was disappointing to learn and it motivated us to try to do something for the special needs students in the Northeast family of schools. Because our school mascot is the Trojans, we decided to call the event the Trojan Games.”

 

“The Trojan Games were derived to meet a need in the community and further develop the ideals of selfless service and citizenship among the NJROTC cadets at Northeast.”

 

The NJROTC program at Northeast Lauderdale High School was established on Jan. 15, 1971, and is currently one of 583 NJROTC programs in the United States and one of only 12 programs in Mississippi.

 

“We had nearly 100 participants and volunteers at this year’s games,” West added. “It was our second year to conduct the games and while it was primarily a NJROTC cadet-led event, there was a lot of support from many other people.

 

“We had tremendous support from everyone at NEHS; the administrative team, custodial staff and coaches donated equipment and time to make the event possible. The Lauderdale County Foundation provided a grant to help defray some of the costs.

 

“The NEHS special needs teachers were also huge contributors, helping organize, raising money from the community and making substantial personal financial contributions to make the games possible.”

 

LEHS student Allie Dean, 17, has enjoyed the time she’s been in NJROTC at NEHS. And she loves the Trojan Games as well.

 

“It give the students a chance to get out of the rooms and get outside to bond with all of us,” she said. “It shows people outside of ROTC what we’re about, too, and they can learn about us.”

 

Dean said activities included many different events, including volleyball, basketball, football,

soccer, tennis ball and bean bag tosses and kickball.

 

Dean said she’s thankful for the lessons she’s learned by being a part of NJROTC at NEHS.

 

“I’m using my time in NJROTC to build up my leadership skills, my confidence and my personality,” she said. “It really helps you to go through these four years.”

 

Both West and Dean felt the games came off perfectly. West said he thought “it was a great event and I believe that it made a positive and lasting impact on the participants and the volunteers alike.”

 

However, without more financial support, the group may find it difficult to expand the games. “Our goal is to continue with the games next year,” West said. “We have a vision of expanding the games to include all of the special needs students within the Lauderdale County School District in the future.

 

“However, to make that vision a reality will require more financial support than we currently possess.”

 

To see a video of last year’s event, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kf_tbbonXw.

To learn more about the school’s program, visit https://tinyurl.com/4re3pp7v.

To learn more about NJROTC in general, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/NSTC/NJROTC/.