Shining Star of Perseverance - Assurant Employee Benefits
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Honorees |
2010 Shining Star of Perseverance
Chris Waddell is the most decorated male skier in Paralympic history. Waddell has been inducted to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, the Paralympic Hall of Fame and is the first paraplegic to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. He is also the founder of The One Revolution Foundation, a non-profit aimed at gaining equality for people with disabilities by changing public perception and offering the gift of mobility by donating handcycles and wheelchairs to people in developing countries.
Waddell was a promising young skier at Middlebury College in 1988 when a skiing accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. Determined to get back on the slopes, he began skiing on a monoski roughly one year later. About two years later, Waddell was named to the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, where he won twelve medals over four games.
Through his work with the Paralympics and One Revolution, Waddell has proven that what happens to you is not as significant as what you do with what happens to you. He is a successful motivational speaker, talking about the resilience of the human condition with topics ranging from leadership to adversity to quality of life.
Waddell has been featured in numerous publications, including Outside Magazine, Skiing, National Geographic Explorer, and was named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” He has also appeared on Dateline and Oprah.
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