Jack Elder was born in 1943 in El Paso, Texas. He loved sports and played multiple sports during his youth. He even had decided, in the 6th grade, that he wanted to be a teacher and coach. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he satisfied that dream when he returned to his high school as a teacher and coach.
Later, after earning a Master’s Degree, Jack earned an Ed.S. degree at George Peabody College in Nashville. It was during his work at Peabody that he was introduced to a new sports training and competition program, founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, called Special Olympics. The program opened the opportunity for people with intellectually disabilities, for the first time, to participate in sports. The program touched Jack’s heart and in 1973 he became the Executive Director (ED) of Tennessee Special Olympics (TSO).
The Kennedy Center at Peabody College agreed to provide office space to serve as the state headquarters for the program. During the first several months, Jack helped the program to meet legal status as a non-profit organization and then traveled the state to spread the word about Special Olympics to the public and private facilities serving people with intellectual disabilities and to recruit a select group of volunteers to serve as Area Directors of the statewide program.
During Jack’s tenure as ED, the program, with the dedicated efforts of volunteers, supporters and the strong support and resources from the National Office, the program grew to about 8,000 volunteers and 13,000 athletes competing in 14 different sports.
TSO was recognized as one of the strongest and best managed programs in US. In 1988, Jack resigned his position with TSO to accept a position as a Regional Director, based in Nashville, with the Special Olympics Internation office.