On Feb. 16-18, hundreds of athletes from across the state competed in the multiday event, which included sports such as powerlifting, volleyball, floorball and golf.
Both cities helped fund the event through hotel occupancy tax revenue, with Lakeway contributing $300,000 and Bee Cave contributing $100,000—a small price to pay in the view of city leaders who said they recognize both the social impact of the event and the benefit of visitors boosting the local economy.
Other community sponsors included WellPoint, Driscoll Health Systems, Covert Bee Cave, Lakeway Police Foundation, ACES and Hill Country Galleria.
Special Olympics Texas organizes over 300 regional and state-level competitions annually around the state, with previous competitions held in other cities such as Dallas and San Marcos.
In other news
Local Westlake businesses, volunteers and outstanding residents were recognized at the 2024 Westies Awards Luncheon on March 1.
The Westlake Chamber of Commerce hosted the annual event at the Austin Country Club, where Sam Ehlinger, a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts and Westlake High School alum, gave the keynote speech, and award-winning television journalist Ron Oliveira emceed.
The 21 finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges and received awards such as Business of the Year, Nonprofit of the Year and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, among others.
