Deputy Mike Marshall will leave for Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday to represent Mississippi law enforcement at the Special Olympics World Games. (The Vicksburg Post/PAT SHANNAHAN)

[02/26/01] No matter what the weather does in Vicksburg, Deputy Sheriff Mike Marshall won’t be experiencing springtime conditions for a week or 10 days.

That’s because he is flying to Alaska Tuesday to work at the Special Olympics World Games in Anchorage.

“It’ll probably be about 60 degrees when I leave here and about 20 degrees when I get there,” he said.

Marshall, who has been employed with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department for nine years, has been involved with Special Olympics for five. He will represent law enforcement employees in Mississippi in a torch run to open the international event.

“It is so rewarding dealing with and being around the athletes,” Marshall said. “Their enthusiasm is really contagious.”

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said he approached Marshall in 1996 about organizing a local torch run and fund-raiser for Special Olympics. Marshall did a good job at coordinating the across-the-city run, Pace said.

“He has really taken all of this under his wing and gone way above and beyond the call of duty,” Pace said. “This is a real honor for him, our department and the state.”

Marshall, who was chosen by the state office to go to Alaska, serves as the West-Central leg leader for Special Olympics.

“These athletes are great because they don’t care if they win or lose, they just love being out there,” Marshall said. “I have seen some athletes turn around and help a competitor who has fallen down, and that is a great thing to see.”

Special Olympics is also good because it gives those often in the background a chance to be celebrities, he said.

“This is something that is all about them and gives them an opportunity to be in the spotlight,” Marshall said.

Special Olympics began in 1968 when Eunice Kennedy Shriver organized the first games at Soldier Field in Chicago. It grew from a day camp Shriver started for people with mental handicaps.

Nancy Biggers, area director for Special Olympics, said Marshall has escorted the local team to the state games in Biloxi every year.

“He just brings so much to this organization and he brings so much of himself to it,” she said.

Biggers, who also teaches at Beechwood Elementary, said Marshall plays a crucial role with the athletes.

“He really serves as a role model, and that is so important to the children and the adults,” she said.

After arriving in Anchorage, Marshall will take part in the Law Enforcement Torch Run “Final Leg,” which includes 79 other officers.

“We are going to be traveling around to other cities in Alaska and speaking to school children and city officials,” Marshall said.

The run will end Sunday at the George M. Sullivan Arena.

Marshall said he is excited and nervous about going to Alaska, but he knows when he returns home he will be enriched by the exposure.

“Just the experience of participating in something that large in scale should be really emotional,” Marshall said. “I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to meet people from around the world.”