You can e-mail us at
Your help is needed!
You can e-mail
us at
Join our communication network and help us stay current in you area.
Your input could
greatly enhance the effectiveness
of this Wheelchair Support Network.
Ohio is a big
state and everyone who lives on wheels is welcomed to participate in the
development of this network!
Thank you for your support!
Below is your Ohio Wheelchair
Network Team!
All of these profiles are just scraping
the surface of how ambitious these people are. They are very important
members of our Ohio Wheelchair community and key to the success of this
communication network project. Yet we do need more coverage, so please
send us your contact information and area of interest. This project
depends on you!
Rick Ackerman
Rick Ackerman is one of the leaders of the Mahoning Valley SCI Support Group.
The MV SCI Group has about 20 members who use wheelchairs. They have
regular monthly meetings at Hillside Hospital in Warren Ohio. Rick is a
team member of the Youngstown Hot Wheels Basketball Team, a very talented
Downhill Skier, Handcycles frequently around Ohio, and rides ATV's. He is
a member of the Buckeye Off Road Adventure Club (BORAC for short). Rick is
the contact person of MV SCI for our Ohio Wheelchair Network. He helps
keep our event schedule up to date and let our community feel welcomed to join
in the groups activities.
Cory Anderson
Cory Anderson is the owner and webmaster of this Ohio Wheelchair Network
project. He spent much time looking for the individual interest smaller wheelchair support
groups. It was a difficult task and he knew that Ohio needed a single
location to find all of the wheelchair adaptive events. Many of the
smaller groups never had a website to host their information. Cory
sponsors 100% of the website costs and updates. He knows that this project
is a worthy effort to bring our Wheelchair Community together.
Cory welcomes input from anyone, for it is not Cory's website - but "OUR" website!
This project is designed to support anyone in the Ohio area
who hosts an adaptive program
that benefits the general moral of our Ohio Wheelchair Community.
Evan Graver
Evan Graver is an active team member of the Ohio Wheelchair Network from the
West Central Ohio area. He is a very talented ATV rider, downhill skier,
water skier, and enjoys to handcycle . Evan is very involved with TAASC
and has helped keep the Ohio Wheelchair Network current with their adaptive
sports events. Evan is also a recently certified scuba diver. This
activity has open many new adventures for him. Evan keeps our community current with the adaptive scuba activities that Ohio Quarries host.
Rick Haller
Rick Haller is a very ambitious
mentor. Here is a picture of Rick
teaching a ski lesson.
Rick is one of the founding
members of TAASC
and is on the board.
He is also the webmaster and is responsible for most of the pictures and video
you see on the TAASC
website.
This long-time Board Member and TAASC volunteer was asked to share some of his TAASC experiences with us.
It's hard to believe how quickly time flies by. It was during the summer of 1994 –
when I first became involved
in wheelchair sports through a Columbus wheelchair softball team called the Pioneers. There were a couple of guys on the team who
had already experienced the fun of snow skiing and encouraged me to try it. Later
that same year, I started playing basketball (with the Columbus Wheelers) and put
snow skiing out of my mind until February 1996 when I thought I would give it a try to see if I would like it.
Well, after that first hit of snow, I couldn't get enough of it! I skied five times
that month and went with TAASC in March 1996 to the John McCabe Celebration in West Virginia and experienced my first taste of a mountain. Then in December 1996 I went to the Disabled Sports USA Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge CO.
I
also bought a Mogul Master (my first mono-ski) while there – I was hooked! From
these adaptive snow skiing experiences, I began teaching skiing to others during
the 1997 season. I eventually earned by Professional Ski Instructors Association
(PSIA) Level 1 certification in 2001. It has felt incredible to be able to “give back”
to TAASC, an organization that did so much for me as an athlete and person.
TAASC is also responsible for greatly improving my home life. It was through TAASC where I met Jenny Kay Hardin, then an Occupational Therapist at Dodd Hall from Ohio State. During the 1997/98 ski season, Jenny and several other OT's from Dodd were volunteering their time in the ski program. We became very good friends through the ski season and the kayaking program during the following summer of 1998. That fall we started dating and got married on September 16, 2000.
I have been involved with TAASC on several different levels: founding Board Member, current board member, adaptive ski instructor, and a participant in TAASC's kayaking, water skiing, cycling, ice hockey, and white water rafting programs. Besides my commitment to TAASC, I am an engineer at Lucent Technologies/Bell Labs.
Jenny and I and my three children Tina, Al, and Matt all have been involved with TAASC programs which has been a great way promote family time.
I hope you enjoying reading about my experiences with TAASC.
-Rick Haller
Rick has joined our Ohio Wheelchair team and helps to better "our" community. Thank you Rick!
Holly Koester
Holly Koester is the Sports Director of the
Buckeye Paralyzed Veterans of America. This group is Ohio's largest
support group for SCI and wheelchair members. The Buckeye PVA sponsors
many of Ohio's adaptive programs including the Ohio Wheelchair Games hosted
every May at Ohio State University, several Ohio Wheelchair Basketball teams and
more. Holly is an avid downhill skier, marathon participant, and enjoys to
handcycle.
Holly helps keep our community
aware of the events that Buckeye PVA sponsors. Her ambition with this Ohio
Wheelchair Network has been very important in its success. Anyone active
in the Ohio Wheelchair Community knows Holly and her puppy Spokes.
Together they are the prime example of what teamwork means. Thanks to
Holly for helping get this network project started.
Darrel McCauley
Darrel McCauley is one of the leading photographers for the NE Ohio Wheelchair
Community. His camera is always recording the many events that are
sponsored in our community. Darrel is a member of the Disabled American
Veterans (DAV) of NE Ohio, member of the Buckeye PVA, a team member of the
Youngstown Hot Wheels Basketball team. Darrel has developed many of the
Ohio Handcycle Network rides, he is a certified downhill ski instructor for the
Three Trackers of Ohio, and has participated in many of the National Veterans
Wheelchair Games.
Jan Mitchell
Janni (Jan) Mitchell is our Ms Ohio 2007 winner. She advocates on the Ohio Governors Council for People with Disabilities and has received recognition from the Internal Association of Assistance Dog Partners. She is a vital part of bringing awareness to our community.
David Nau
David Nau is involved with NE Ohio Wheelchair education including Wheelchair
Technique and Handcycle Competition readiness. Dave recently retired from
the Dancing Wheels and has used his expertise of Proper Wheelchair Balance and
Motion to help others in our community use their chairs so that they prevent
muscle and ligament strains. Dave is also a Gold Medal Handcycle
competitor from the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. He helps organize
local rides to motivate others in our community to get active in the sport.
Brian Woodyard
Brian "Woody" Woodyard (Age 35) is from Belpre, Ohio and plays basketball on the Marietta Wheelers.
Level of Injury: T7
Interests: Hunting, Biking, Billiards, skiing
"Disabled Doesn't Mean Unabled"
Team member names
are color coded
to reflect their area of coverage in Ohio.
NE Ohio area is well covered for communications, so we need help in the NW and SE areas of Ohio. We hope that some ambitious people in those areas help bridge the information to our network and share what happens in those areas. If you are involved in any area throughout Ohio, and see a story that is missing or people might take interest, please feel welcomed to join our team and share your input.
Thank you for any input!
.