Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 life skills students teamed up with Carbon Career and Technical Institute recently to build a bench in honor of Lisa Cooper, a beloved local Special Olympics manager who passed away at age 50 due to COVID-19 complications in January.

On Friday morning, CLIU and CCTI students unveiled the bench and placed it near the bocce ball courts at Baer Memorial Park in Lehighton.

“It’s a very special bench to us,” Brian Haselden, life skills student and Special Olympics athlete said. “Lisa Cooper was my coach for powerlifting. She treated us very nice and was very helpful. I miss her.”

Mary Huber of Jim Thorpe, who has also been involved with the Carbon County Special Olympics for a number of years, said Cooper’s contributions to the local program were significant.

“She made sure our athletes had everything they needed in order to practice and prepare for competition,” Huber said. “From new bocce bags to umbrellas to shield the athletes from the sun, she always made sure we had it. We wanted to name the courts after Lisa as a simple way to let the community she grew up in know the impact she made on every Special Olympics athlete. Her loss is simply immeasurable.”

Jeff Hazleton, a carpentry instructor at CTTI, said the athletes came to the school once a week to work on the bench in tandem with students in his program.

“They really enjoyed mixing the cement and pouring it,” Hazleton said. “Brian (Haselden) and Traven Butler took the painting very seriously. Our carpentry students put some of the boards on, but they helped us screw them in and do the staining and sanding.”

Helping with the project left a lasting impression on Butler, a CLIU student.

“It feels really fun to be part of the team,” Butler said. “I want to do more stuff like this.”

Huber noted the strong bond between the athletes and Cooper, which is why it was important for them to play an active role in making the bench to honor her memory.

“Time would stand still as each athlete left their court to crowd around her and greet her, which usually came with a story or two,” she said. “She listened intently to everything they had to tell her.”

While CCTI students have helped out in numerous community projects in the past, joining forces with the CLIU gives them a new perspective, Hazleton said.

“It’s pretty cool to have been able to help them create this tribute, which will be out for the public to see,” he added. “Sometimes our students take some of this stuff for granted, but you could just see how excited the life skills students were to be part of this. They were smiling from ear to ear and it’s great to see what they accomplished.”