Longtime Torch Run Volunteer Will Escort the Flame of Hope to the Opening Ceremonies in Turin

We are excited to announce that Captain Chuck Adams of the University of Kentucky police Department has been selected to represent Kentucky in the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg for the upcoming 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Adams will join law enforcement officers from around the world to escort the “Flame of Hope” to the Opening Ceremonies of the Turin Games, which will take place on March 8.

The Final Leg will take place from Feb. 26 to March 8. On Feb. 26 the “Flame of Hope” will travel from Athens, Greece, where it is lit, to Rome, where it will receive a Papal Blessing in St. Peter’s Basilica. Adams will join his fellow Final Leg runners in Turin on Feb. 27 with the Final Leg itself beginning on March 1. From there they will escort the Flame to a number of cities in Italy before returning to Turin for the Opening Ceremonies.

Adams has been involved in the Torch run for the past 10 years, beginning with his previous department, the Frankfort Police Department. Adams and the Frankfort Police participated in scrimmages with local Special Olympics teams to help them prepare for their upcoming competitions.

After retiring as the Chief of the Frankfort Police Department in 2021, Adams joined the University of Kentucky Police to continue his law enforcement career. He immediately set to work bolstering the UKPD’s already established engagement with the Law Enforcement Torch Run and Special Olympics Kentucky. Along with several other officers, he participated in the UK Campus Polar Plunge, a student-led effort that benefits athletes in Fayette County and across the state. He also supported the UKPD’s fundraising efforts for the 2024 Lexington Truck Pull.

Chuck is married to Becky, a teacher. They have 3 children, Jonah, Kylie, and Lena.

The Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 will take place from March 8 -16, 2025, gathering over 1,500 athletes from 103 countries to compete in eight winter sports and showcase the determination of people with intellectual disabilities and the power of inclusion through sport. World Winter Games events will be held in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics is the largest public awareness vehicle and grass-roots fundraiser for Special Olympics. Known as Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carry the Flame of Hope into the Opening Ceremony of local competitions, and into Special Olympics State, Provincial, National, Regional and World Games. Annually, more than 100,000 dedicated and compassionate law enforcement members carry the “Flame of Hope,” symbolizing courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe.

For more information about the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg or the 2025 World Winter Games, contact Makr Buerger at 502-695-8222 or [email protected].