SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — When skier Nick Mills heads to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy next month, he’ll have plenty of support behind him.

“I’ve never lived next door to an Olympian before,” Mills’ next-door neighbor Russ Bartunek said.

Mills has been skiing for more than ten years after his grandfather first introduced him to it, so when he qualified for the world games in alpine skiing, he was at a loss for words.

“When I first found out, I just started tearing up. It’s hard to believe what’s happening,” Mills said.

When he’s not on the slopes, Mills has also been a prominent figure around his neighborhood.

“When we moved into the neighborhood, Nick was the first person to greet us when we moved here, so we got to know him right off the bat,” Bartunek said.

So, as Mills’ trip to Italy drew near, his neighbors wanted to commemorate his accomplishment.

“We were kind of thinking how we could get behind him and show a little support from the neighborhood, and we come up with the with the idea of the yard signs,” Bartunek said.

You can see a sign stuck into the frozen ground in multiple yards near Mills’ home. The neighbors also signed a banner for him.
“It caught me off guard and made me super happy seeing all the support I’m getting,” Mills said

“We had more requests than we had signs, so we kind of put them up in the part of the neighborhood where the most people would see them,” Bartunek said.

It’s comforting for Mills to know that while he’s competing over 4,000 miles away, he’ll have people supporting him in Sioux Falls.

“Just makes me know I have a lot of people behind me cheering me on back at home while I’m out in Italy,” Mills said.

“Even if we have to get up in the middle of night, we’ll be watching him,” Bartunek said.

Mills will be competing from March 10 to the 15. To raise money for Mills’ trip to Italy, there will be a ski and snowboard race at Great Bear Ski Valley next Sunday. For more information on the race and the Special Olympics World Winter Games, visit the links below: