BUTLER TWP — One thing is certain about Diana Dunbar's induction into the Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Hall of Fame.

She earned it.

Dunbar, 59, of Butler became the fourth individual from Special Olympics Butler County to receive induction during a May 16 banquet at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia.

Previously inducted were athletes Tim Spence last year and Joe Osche in 1997, along with volunteer Pat Byerly in 2002.

“I'm very proud and excited about this,” Dunbar said. “I feel honored.”

Byerly and Dunbar have a connection. Byerly was Special Olympics Butler County's first bowling coach when the program was established in 1983. Dunbar bowled with that first team and continues to bowl for the squad today.

She competed in the first SOPA bowling tournament in Harrisburg in 1983 and bowled in the World Games at the University of Notre Dame in 1987.

“I received ribbons for finishing fifth, seventh and eighth place,” Dunbar said of her experience at the World Games.

While she also competes in track and field, “bowling is my favorite sport. I enjoy meeting new friends and bowling with them,” she added.

Dunbar is averaging 121 this year. When she began bowling, her average was below 100.

Dunbar's sister, Patty Daniels, is the outreach coordinator for Special Olympics Butler County and submitted the nomination for Dunbar's induction.

“Our county manager, Mary Pitzer, suggested we put something together because Diana has done so much for the organization,” Daniels said.

Some of Dunbar's other achievements include:

• Receiving and displaying 48 Special Olympics medals and ribbons in her home.

• Receiving the “Women in Sports — Challenged Athlete Sports Award from the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce in 1987.

• Joining an all-women's bowling league, Jolly Girls, at Sherwood Lanes in 1995. She still bowls in that league and rolled a career-high 191 game there.

• Volunteered at Special Olympics Butler County Auction fund-raiser for seven years and did a “Faces & Places” TV interview to promote it.

• Participates annually in the Special Olympics Butler County Bowl-A-Thon, which raised $575 in 2012.

• Walks in the Butler Christmas Parade each year to promote Special Olympics.

Without Special Olympics, “I wouldn't be anywhere,” Dunbar said. “I'd just be sitting at home.”

Instead, she rarely sits at all.

Employed in accounting with the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) in Butler for 36 years, Dunbar has received recognition as Client of the Month and Client of the Year by that organization.

“Special Olympics has helped Diana to make new friends, socialize, and to be responsible. Special Olympics has helped our daughter become a better person,” her parents, LaVern and Helen Dunbar, said in a prepared statement.

A medical issue prevented Dunbar from bowling from January through June in 2011.

“She missed it badly,” Daniels said. “She worked so hard to get back, then to get her game back to the level it was. Bowling truly motivates her.”

SOPA provides year-round training and competition in 22 Olympic-type sports to more than 20,000 children and adults throughout the state.