Coach Sherri Mell has taught regular PE/APE for 35 years, receiving multiple Teacher of the Year Awards. She has been a Special Olympics Coach for 26 years, receiving the following awards for her work with Special Olympics Texas: Coach of the Year (2005, 2016), Trainer of the Year (2009), and Volunteer of the Year for Sports and Competition (2012). She is a Gold Card Member of the Women's Pro Rodeo Association, receiving the prestigious award of Pioneer Woman of the Year in 2005. In 2004, she was Inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame as well as being inducted into the Appaloosa Hall of Fame in 2006. She has won over 125 World or National Titles in her career showing and rodeoing on her Appaloosas. She founded her own Therapeutic Riding Facility - ROPER (Riding Opportunities Promoting Exceptional Riders) - in 2002 and is still running it to this day with her Special Olympics team being a big part of it. Coach Mell is attending her first World Games for Special Olympics in 2019.