Circle of Champions
Our Champions truly epitomize the word “Champion” itself. This select group of leaders raises millions of dollars for Best Buddies annually, and they impact their local programs in an extraordinary and unprecedented way. While they compete for weeks, we revere their commitment to inclusion forever and lean on their wisdom to guide future Champions.
1,800
Champions
$27.7
Million Raised
Our 2022 Top 3
1 | $123,000
Asher Ward
Oklahoma
2 | $99,207
Angela Andrews
New Jersey
3 | $98,513
JohnThomas Atema
Tennessee
Our Nationwide Champion of the Year Winners
Alabama
Anna Moates & Eleese Anthony
$23,000.00
Arizona
Kinsey Sullivan
$96,671.17
California: Bay Area
Kevin Lint
$31,851
California: Los Angeles
Carlos Lopezleon
$25,000
California: San Diego
AJ Arciniega
$15,231
Connecticut
Abby Senich and Christine Sullivan
$25,000.00
Delaware
Samuel Burbank
$6,300.00
Florida: North Florida
Kayla Sharp
$98,490.00
Florida: Orlando
Rob’s Rockstars (Rob Concelman, Leesa Stone, Marissa Nelson and John Nelson)
$85,000.00
Florida: Palm Beach
Marc Pintel & Stephen Shore
$23,273.02
Florida: South Florida
Michelle Kligman and Carolina Rousell
$55,094
Florida: Southwest Florida
Laura Georgelos & Mission Partner, Daughter Tori
$20,580.00
Florida: Tampa Bay
Dean Valenti with Mission Partner: Joshua Felder
$45,000.00
Georgia
Callaghan Finnegan and Kennedy Baldini
$37,000
Hawaii
Brian Yano and Ho’opi’ookalani Balaz
$24,000
Illinois: Central Illinois
Marcus Jackson
$21,292
Illinois: Chicago
Sophie Greene
$45,400.00
Indiana
RJ Zeph & Matt Stapleton
$49,037.00
Iowa
Kimberly Krantz
$50,900.00
Kentucky
Meghan Strite and Cam Brian
$19,402.00
Maine
Lauren Weber
$42,000.00
Maryland
Julia Goldsmith
$11,400.00
Michigan
Sarah Ridley
$16,000.00
Minnesota
Patrick Elmore & Jessica Scheu
$68,000.00
Mountain (CO & UT)
Lloyd Lewis
$29,184.00
Nevada
Camille Herd & Gabi
$35,000.00
New Hampshire
Meagan Baron & her Mission Partner, Ian
$30,000.00
New Jersey
Angela Andrews
$99,207.00
New Mexico
Terry Casey
$10,258.00
Western New York
Caroline Hewitt
$6,725.00
New York: Albany
Trinity Hogben & Meg Phelps
$10,000.00
North Carolina
Stephen and Avery Day
$15,000.00
Ohio: Cleveland
Kate Scovil
$44,000.00
Ohio: Columbus
Alex Rogers & Sharla Thomas
$30,000.00
Oklahoma
Asher Ward
$123,000.00
Oregon
Katie Campbell
$50,000.00
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
Jason & Teddy Anderson
$20,000.00
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
Megan Defebo
South Carolina
Knox Hudson
$94,158.00
Tennessee
JohnThomas Atema
$98,513.00
Texas: Houston
Jordyn Ensell
$79,075.00
Texas: North Texas
Chris Boult & Annemarie Carrigan
$80,850.00
Washington
Marykylie Cranford
$25,000
Washington, DC
Jaxson Zimmerman
$8,773.00
Wisconsin
Madison Dettmann & Amelia Jennings
$10,000