This page may appear to be a contradiction. This site is not because of me. This site is dedicated to and celebrates the men, women, and children who have motivated and molded the person I am today. I serve as your ‘tour guide.’ My passion is and has been for most of my life focused on people with disabilities and for the past 30 years included cancer patients and survivors. The question I ask myself daily, “Why is it that people less gifted, suffered devastating hardship, physically and mentally challenged… have that inner strength (fight) to overcome obstacles and accomplish more and excel?” Survivors and winners always meet at the finish line…first.

My early boyhood heroes, Jim Thorpe and Jackie Robinson. Jim Thorpe…labeled “world’s greatest athlete.” Native American. Decathlon gold medalist, Olympics. Excelled in football, baseball and track. Pro football Hall of Fame. Jackie Robinson…attended UCLA. Excelled in football, basketball, baseball and track. In the early days baseball was his worst sport. First game in the majors, April 15, 1947, broke the color barrier. Brooklyn Dodgers. He and Dodger GM Branch Rickey… their names would be forever linked. Jackie is in the MLB Hall of Fame.

Later in life I added my late father who died 1/1/80. St. Luke’s Hospital, Milw, WI. Just prior to my father undergoing a serious procedure for heart disease eight years after triple bypass. My Mother and I were allowed to spend five minutes with him. As my mother was leaving the room, as he lay in bed, he turned to me and said, “Take good care of your mother and give her a hug for me.” I never thought he was telling me good bye. That moment has haunted me ever since.

My Grandfather passed away when my dad was age 16, they were dairy farmers. My father had to take over and run the farm. He refused to drop out of high school, and he graduated. He was able to keep the farm while going to school. He went on to be the area’s most respected and successful farmer.

A few of my Dad’s sayings:
“Behind every face is a story, listen before you walk away.”
“Life is like getting on a horse, make sure you are facing the front.”
“If you perform a good deed expecting a thank you, you are doing it for the wrong reasons.”
“Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end the faster it goes.”
“…And in all your relationships, water the flower before it dies.”

The late Vince Lombardi…1959, he was hired as head football coach and GM for the Green Bay Packers. Most winning coach in that era, he won the first two Super Bowls, and today the Super Bowl Trophy is named after him. He died of Colon Cancer.

Kyle Maynard… congenital amputee, no arms, no legs. Recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. His Speech… “No Excuses.”

Charlotte Brown… Emory, TX. Blind. Competes in track and field. Sprinter/pole vault. Trains with her father. Service Dog. Has a beeper. For the pole vault she paces off seven steps and plants. She wins.

Kayla Montgomery… long distance runner. Battling Multiple Sclerosis. A must watch video… “Catching Kayla.”

To the hundreds and hundreds of men, women, and children who have participated in my clinics, cheered and supported me when competing, thank you for coming into my life. You are the reason for this page… this site.
In the end, aside from medals, plaques and awards one may win… the lasting reward, never fading is
“What kind of person was I?”.
“What kind of person am I?”.

“When you change the way you look at things, you change the way things look… the things you look at change.”, Author Unknown.

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache… carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” Napoleon Hill.