Susan Stegeman is stepping away from Special Olympics Missouri.
Stegeman has acted as the nonprofit's president and chief executive officer for more than 2 years.
The change will give her a chance to pursue other opportunities, she said.
She accepted the position in April 2019, as SOMO celebrated the opening of its new Training for Life Campus at 305 Special Olympics Drive.
However, only 52 days in (on May 22, 2019) an EF-3 tornado that struck Jefferson City caused about $5.4 million in damage to the campus. It broke windows, compromised the roof and damaged 22 roof trusses. It ripped up landscaping and knocked down light poles.
And just as repairs were nearing completion, the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the state, preventing SOMO from hosting sporting events and other activities at the site.
So, for more than 2 1/2 years, Stegeman has helmed the nonprofit as it faced nearly overwhelming challenges.
She was with the organization for a long time before she became president. In all, she's served SOMO for more than 31 years.
During that time, she worked with law enforcement partners to grow Missouri's Law Enforcement Torch Run. It grew to be the world's ninth-largest run, bringing in more than $2 million annually for the nonprofit. She served on the International Torch Run Executive Council, which is responsible for expanding the run worldwide.
She's been heavily involved with the annual Polar Plunge, Over the Edge And Drive it Home Raffle fundraisers. She participated in the capital campaign that resulted in the development of the $18.5 million Training for Life Campus. The campus's 32,000-square-foot building on a 16.5-acre former rock quarry is the largest Special Olympics home in the world - offering health and wellness screenings and classes as well as year-round sports training for athletes. It is intended to provide leadership opportunities for athletes, coaches, volunteers and staff.
It includes a sports arena, featuring indoor basketball and volleyball courts, multimedia conference rooms, a health and fitness center, space for free health screenings, and administrative offices for Special Olympics Missouri and for Special Olympics Missouri-Central Region.
Stegeman replaced Mark Musso, who spent 27 years with SOMO.
Stegeman's last day as president is Dec. 31.
"SOMO has been here for 50 years and will be around for another 50 years," Stegeman said. "I always knew I would know when it was time to move on."
It's been a very difficult 2 1/2 years, SOMO Board Chairwoman Cathy Bumb said, but SOMO has opportunities to grow.
The search for Stegeman's successor has been underway since around the first of November, Bumb said.
There just seems to be a lot of turnover at this point with SOMO, Bumb said, and pointed out that SOMO lists a number of openings at somo.org.
"I'm excited to get some new people in," Bumb said, and pointed to the challenges putting on events at the campus. "It's been hard to get athletes in here. We're looking for some energy."
It's difficult to imagine the stress the series of tragedies that struck SOMO put leadership under, she continued.
"(Stegeman) made the decision she wanted to try something different. We're leaving on good terms," Bumb said. "She's moving on. We're moving on. We'll be fine, I think."
The organization is implementing a new three-year strategic plan, which will replace the annual plan created in January.
SOMO is looking for "a strong people leader who is an excellent communicator, strategic and forward thinker, and visionary, and who can inspire team members to be engaged and achieve their best in performing SOMO's mission," the listing for the president's job says.
SOMO's mission is to "provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community," according to the SOMO website.
"We need a strong leader who has a vision that's really going to energize our group," Bumb said. "Having somebody there 27 years or 30-plus, there's need for a shakeup. New thoughts, new ideas. Looking forward to somebody new coming to the table.
"How can we bring a new vision to a new campus," she asked.
Hopefully, the new president will also have a vision that moves the organization forward, Bumb said.
And the focus needs to return to the athletes, she added.
"The board worked really hard getting us through the tornado - through the pandemic," Bumb said. "We haven't been focused on the athletes. That distracted people for a while."
Now, the organization needs to support athletes daily on a statewide level, she said.