Wheel World News Issue 30 March | Page 28

MEET THE BOARD

WHEEL WORLD NEWS

March 2018

My name is Gary W. Venjohn. I have been a board member of Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association from its beginning. I am now the Vice President but have served in all office as well as a board member. This is my last term on the board as I will retire when this term expires! I have served on numerous boards and comities - local, statewide and nationally.

I am the father of 2 sons, 10 grandchildren - 1 adopted, 5 step grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren and the 5th on the way. This is the love of my life as family is everything. They all live here and are together often. I guess this is where most of my time now is spent! I also have 2 nephews and families that live in the valley.

This May 13th will be the 40th anniversary of my life after a T-12 spinal fracture and spinal cord damage in Casper, WY. This was my first exposure to this community. After 3 ½ months of rehab at Craig Hospital, I was headed back home to begin the new chapter of my life.

Before the injury, I had managed department stores in Casper Wyoming. After working for a large company, I decided to work for myself and bought a floor covering store. This is when I had my accident and changed the way I looked at life. I was working 10 to 16 hour days building a business for my family, but realizing I was not living as a part of my family but this business family. One thing I really liked is being active participating in sports and outdoor activities. How would I be able to continue?

Craig Hospital Recreation Department introduced me to many activities for persons with disabilities. I was off to trying everything, but basketball was always number 1 for me. I started a basketball team in

Each month, we want to highlight a member of our board of directors. This month we are highlighting Gary Venjohn, the Vice President of the Board of Directors. Read about who Gary is and why he volunteers his time to serve on AZSCIA's board of directors.

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Meet Gary Venjohn...