Saturday, January 10, 2009

With son in mind, BPD officer carries Special Olympics torch

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Belen Belen Police Lt. Robert Miller has been selected to run in the Law Enforcement Torch Run final leg for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, which will be held in Idaho.

Miller, along with law enforcement officers from around the world, will gather later this month in Idaho to carry the Flame of Hope in the Law Enforcement Torch Run. The run, which will last two weeks before the opening ceremonies on Feb. 2, is not only to salute the athletes who compete, but also to honor officers who make up the final leg team.

"The torch was lit in Greece, and from there, it went on to other countries — just like for the 'regular' Olympics," Miller explained. "It's on its way up to Idaho at this time, where the final leg team of selected officers will carry the torch, the Flame of Hope, into Nampa to light the caldron for the opening ceremonies."

Miller is scheduled to travel to Idaho on Wednesday, Jan. 28, when all the law enforcement officers selected for the final leg team will be separated into three teams that will be sending the message of Special Olympics. Not only will he be running with the torch on a daily basis, but also he will be speaking to people about Special Olympics.

"Each person will be running anywhere from nine to 12 miles a day over a nine-day period," Miller said. "It's going to be freezing and cold, but the athletes do what they do and show bravery by going out there and showing people what they can do, and I just figure being cold is the least I can do."

Miller was selected to represent the state for his continued dedication to Special Olympics and outstanding fundraising abilities. To be considered as a member of the final leg run, an officer must raise at least $5,000 a year for Special Olympics.

Since 2005, when Miller has been in charge of the Law Enforcement Torch run for the Belen Police Department, he has continually raised thousands of dollars for Special Olympics. During his first year, he raised $6,000, and $11,000 the next. During his third year in charge, Miller raised $7,000 and, so far this year, he's raised almost $5,000.

"The people who are able to raise a significant amount of money for the athletes and program are able to put their names in to be selected to be a part of the final leg team," he explained. "You can put your name in there, but it's really dependent on what you've done for Special Olympics and what you've done to raise awareness. It's really about how dedicated you are about the program."

Van Pexa, a Special Olympics athlete from Albuquerque, and Doyle Syling, a retired officer from the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety and torch run director and team leader, will travel with Miller to Idaho for the World Winter Games. Miller said there are no athletes from New Mexico who will compete in this year's Winter Games.

Miller was selected to be a member of the final leg in September, and since then, he's been training every day for the run. Two years after having knee surgery, Miller has either been running on his treadmill or outside making sure he's ready.

Since September, he's lost 50 pounds through his regimen.

Miller said while he's honored with being selected to be a final leg team member and represent the state, the city and the department, he looks to his 14-year-old son, Robby, a Special Olympic athlete, for inspiration on a daily basis.

"I see the struggles that he goes through with his disabilities," Miller said. "Sometimes people look down on our athletes with disabilities and don't see them as athletes, but I look at my son or some of the other athletes, and I see role models.

"I look at all the athletes who I have the privilege to know, and for them, they just want to be out there and have fun and for the pure aspect of the sport — nothing more," he said.

It's all about competition and sportsmanship, Miller said. He said when he looks at his son, and the other athletes and sees what they can overcome, he's inspired by them and tries to implement what they've shown him in his own life

Miller grew up in Iowa and was a member of his high school's JROTC program. He said while there were several special needs cadets in the program, he really didn't understand their disabilities.

"When my son was born, we knew there was something different about him, but we couldn't figure it out," he said. "It wasn't until he was 6 years old that he almost died when he had a grand mal seizure that we were able to understand that he had a malformation of the brain which created deafness and a lot of other disabilities."

At first, Miller tried to figure out what to do for his child who loves sports, but with his disability, they were told he wouldn't be able to participate. As a father, it crushed Miller because he couldn't do anything about it other than just love his son.

"When we moved to New Mexico, I tried putting him in flag football, but his bone structure was too dense and he could have broke his bones easily," Miller said. "It wasn't until I started with the Belen Police Department in February 2003 that I became aware of Special Olympics.

"The chief, Mike Chavez, was the one who really got me interested and told me what it was all about. I saw that my son met the requirements of being in Special Olympics, and it was an awesome thing for him because it brought him out of his shell."

After his son started competing, Miller became involved with fundraising efforts, and in 2005, he was chosen to head the Belen Police Department's Law Enforcement Torch Run program. Eventually, Miller also became a certified Special Olympics coach, which he says has enriched his life.

"You learn how to help an athlete who is blind, deaf or who is in a wheelchair," Miller said. "You really learn how to motivate them and to look beyond what they can't see and attain an achievement that they didn't think was possible."

The 2009 Final Leg will begin in northern Idaho and cover scores of cities, towns and communities, to include all of the Host Town Program communities, on the way to the opening ceremonies at the Idaho Center in Nampa on Feb. 7. Belen Police Chief Mike Chavez said the city will be tracking Miller's runs on the city's Web site, www.belen-nm.gov.

For more information about the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, go to www.2009worldgames.org.

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