Our family became involved with Pathway Services as soon as our son Andrew was born in 1969. My husband Jim joined the Pathway board and we both were supportive of all the fundraisers and events.

When the decision was made to build Pathway School on Southwest Street we were asked to sign a pledge stating that we would help in any way we could and our family (along with many others) watched Pathway succeed and grow.

Andrew attended Pathway School for one year and then entered Special Education – School District # 117. Our hearts have always supported Pathway. My husband Jim remained on the board and was President of the Pathway board when he passed away in 1979. Shortly after his death I was asked to serve on the board and continued to serve until the Foundation board was formed and I was asked to serve on it. My daughter served on the Pathway board in the late 1980s and I continued on the Foundation board until the late 1990s.

Andrew has been an active participant in Pathway Special Olympics for over 40 years. Participating in all of these sporting events is one of Andrew’s greatest joys. The physical activity, spending time with his teammates, learning from all of the devoted coaches and assistants, traveling to compete, and the great exhilaration of the victories, but even more importantly learning to deal gracefully with the defeats have all added so much to the quality of Andrew’s life.

For the past few years Andrew has benefited from the Pathway Service program that provides a personal assistant to help him achieve some of his other dreams. Andrew was able to broaden his knowledge and learn computer skills by attending Lincoln Land Community College in Jacksonville with help from his personal assistant. He was also able to take acting classes and has performed in several local theater productions.

Our family simply followed the pathway to unlimited opportunities. With much gratitude to Pathway Services Unlimited,

Leta, DeeAnn and Andrew Holtschlag