WATERLOO -- Rich Fellingham may be stepping down as president and chief executive officer of Special Olympics Iowa in December, but he can't walk away from the organization just yet.

Fellingham, 63, officially retires next month from the position he has held since 1997. However, he has already agreed to stay on with the organization part-time to work on special projects.

The former radio personality, who worked many years at KASI in Ames, and current voice of Iowa State women's basketball, said he told the board they were crazy when they encouraged him to apply for the job more than a decade ago.

"I started two months later," he said. "I never dreamed I would be retiring from this job."

Since then, Fellingham has significantly grown the organization, more than doubling participation to about 13,000 athletes statewide, the second-highest per capita in the U.S. Fellingham said much of the success in increasing participation has to do with simply raising awareness about the organization.

However, several programs that target individuals too young to participate in the Olympics are also bringing more athletes into the fold. Athletes must be at least 8 years old to participate in any local or state events, but several play day events across the state teach youngsters pre-sport skills and get them and their parents familiar with the programs available.

Joe Wilson, the area director for Northeast Iowa, said Fellingham's list of accomplishments are long, but it is his visibility that sets him apart from other leaders.

"Rich was the kind of CEO who was always out at the events. He was very visible in the organization," Wilson said. "He has done so much for Special Olympics."

Shirley Kruger, a physical education teacher at River Hills School and Special Olympics coach, said Fellingham, the Special Olympics staff and thousands of volunteers are all great about meeting and talking with the athletes at the big state events, like the summer and winter games and the state bowling tournament.

"They don't really care about talking with the parents or coaches as much as getting involved with the athletes. Some people have a difficult time communicating with our population, but they are all super and even remember their names from event to event," she said.

Fellingham said a big chunk of his time in the last 11 years has been spent fundraising, but that even when he was focused on finding donations, the athletes were always on his mind. In addition to spearheading a $2.5 million capital campaign that resulted in a new state headquarters building in Grimes, Fellingham was also responsible for helping secure a $3 million annual budget that helps keep activities free for Special Olympic athletes.

"Everything we do is about them," he said.

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.