Pat Krebs believes in courage.
That includes both the courage it took her to leave her tenure as a professor at Adelphi University in the early 1980s and join the Special Olympics ? and the courage of athletes who participate in the events that the group stages.
Krebs, the president and chief executive officer of the Special Olympics of Maryland, has overseen the statewide nonprofit organization since 1992.
Under her, Maryland?s program has grown from 1,000 athletes to more than 10,000.
“So much of what we do is not that it?s been done before, it?s that it?s not a simple organization,” Krebs, 56, said. “When you think of Special Olympic programs, we do all the sports ourselves. We are not a recreation program, we are a sports program.”
With a home office based in Linthicum, the Special Olympics of Maryland is the local branch of an international organization that is dedicated to helping develop handicapped individuals physically, mentally and emotionally. Each year, Special Olympics of Maryland puts on events like the Polar Bear Plunge, Deep Creek Dunk and Chesapeake Bay BBQ Cook-Off. These events help to raise money and support their seasonal sports festivals and other activities that the athletes can participate in.
Working on a limited budget and volunteer base as many nonprofits do, it is imperative the group and the events be well-organized and planned. That is where Krebs excels.
Not a believer in trickle-down leadership, Krebs strives to get feedback from all her staff, volunteers and athletes. Perhaps this is why she has been so successful at keeping her staff together, with all the core members of her leadership team serving with her in Maryland for more than 10 years.
Combining an intense drive to succeed while utilizing her staff?s input, Krebs has become someone that success is expected from.
“When you have a CEO that is as cooperative and efficient a person as Pat, it makes your job not only easier to do but improves the organization as a whole,” said Ken Brannan, chairman of the board of the Special Olympics of Maryland.
Following a job with the Special Olympics head office in the late 1970s, Krebs gained tenure as a professor at Adelphi. Krebs returned to the head office of Special Olympics in 1985 ? taking a position involving much international travel, Krebs loved her job, but after about eight years she was looking to settle down.
“I had the chance to travel the world and meet a lot of people and I loved it, but I was ready to settle in one place,” Krebs said.
That?s when the position as head of the Maryland office opened up.
PAT KREBS
» First job: Working the switchboard at the Cumberland Armory.
» Education/credentials: Bachelors of science in health and physical therapy from Montclair State; master?s in health and physical therapy from Montclair State; doctorate in kinesthesiology from University of Maryland, College Park.
» Best job perk: Working with the athletes.
» Daily e-mails received: 10 to 15
» Daily voice mails received: 35 to 50
» Essential Web sites: The Arc of Maryland.
» Career objective: Create a permanent home for the Special Olympics of Maryland training center.
» Favorite gadget: My digital camera
» Hometown: Linglestown, Pa.
» Birth date: Jan. 30, 1951
» Original aspiration: Teach school in the day, teach horse-riding on weekends and be a dancer at night.
» Sports/hobbies: Working out, traveling, walking my dogs and yard care
