A local man has been named Champion of Inclusion by Special Olympics Canada.

Peter Halley was nominated by his employee at Spirit of Newfoundland and Special Olympics athlete Leah McDonald.

McDonald, who is on the autism spectrum, received an email from Special Olympics asking for nominations for Champions of Inclusion; someone who goes above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of a person—or people—with special needs.

She says she knew right away she had to nominate Halley.

McDonald says Halley has done much for her over the almost 10 years they have known each other. It was through him she landed her first job. She says having been bullied her entire life and never fitting in, it was huge finding someone without special needs that accepted her and wanted to be friends.

Halley says it’s a real honor to receive the award. He says a lot of people have been congratulating him, but he feels as though there shouldn’t be any congratulations as that’s just the way they operate at Spirit of Newfoundland. Halley says they’ve always worked on the premise of inclusion and they have a lot of people who work at Spirit with special needs.

Leah McDonald and Peter Halley spoke with VOCM’s Kerri Hodder. Listen below: