JUNO BEACH, Fla. — When Olga Meador's daughter Sabrina first stepped onto a soccer field at age nine, neither could have predicted how that moment would shape both their lives. 19 years later, Meador still works at NextEra Energy, now as a technology director in information technology (IT), while Sabrina has been a nationally recognized Special Olympics athlete featured in Sports Illustrated.
"Sabrina fell in love with athletics from the very beginning," says Meador. "It brought so much focus to her life and gave our family a shared purpose."
That shared purpose has taken the Meador family from local gyms to national competitions, where Sabrina, who has Down syndrome, has competed at the Special Olympics twice at the national level.
"The physical nature of sports has given her a voice and an enormous amount of confidence," Meador explains.
The Meador family's commitment extends beyond Sabrina's individual achievements. Meador's husband routinely volunteers as a coach, while their younger daughter Samantha organized a unified sports program at the University of Florida that connects special needs athletes with their peers. Samantha's advocacy work helped prepare her for her current career as a speech-language pathologist.
For Meador, whose three-decade career at NextEra Energy has been spent entirely in IT where she has worked on some of the most transformative projects for the company, volunteerism became a natural extension of her professional skills.
"I tend to get involved with leadership opportunities—bringing people together, organizing, scheduling events and practices," she says. "I try to make the best use of my time and skills, down to the smallest details."
Those organizational talents haven't gone unnoticed. The Special Olympics honored the family's dedication by presenting them the Family of the Year Award for the South Florida region—recognition for decades of commitment.
"Other families involved with the organization call us Team Meador," Meador says with a smile.
Through a NextEra Energy employee resource group, Meador has connected her professional world with her passion, helping the company sponsor Special Olympics events and creating opportunities for other employees to experience the same sense of community.
Continuing the trend of athletic prowess, Sabrina has discovered a new passion in stand-up paddleboarding, working toward a goal of completing an 800-meter ride. True to tradition, the Meadors attend practices together every Thursday.
"Anyone can get involved in the Special Olympics," Meador says. "The organization is always in need of volunteers, whether you want to be a coach, safety instructor or an organizer. We welcome all skill sets with open arms."
For Team Meador, the Special Olympics will always be a place where potential is unlimited—a philosophy that has shaped both a family and a career built on bringing out the best in people.
