Kevin Saunders

Kevin Saunders (born December 8, 1955, in Smith Center, Kansas) is an American paralympian, author, and has been recognized one of the top motivational speakers in America. He was the first person with a disability appointed to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, and remains the only person to serve two consecutive terms under different administrations, first under George H. W. Bush, and later reappointed by President Bill Clinton.^[1]

Early Life and Education

The youngest of three boys, Saunders was born to Donald and Freda Saunders, who owned a farm in north central Kansas. His two siblings were much older, with Gerald, the eldest, graduating from college while Kevin was still an infant.

Saunders enjoyed sports from an early age, and by middle school and high school, he was involved with football, basketball, track and baseball. At graduation, Saunders met U.S. Senator Bob Dole, a fellow Kansan, who spoke at the commencement exercises for Downs High School. Saunders was struck by Sen. Dole’s accomplishments despite a disability he sustained during World War II.

Saunders attended college on athletic scholarships for football, track and field, and soccer. He transferred to Kansas State University, majoring in agricultural economics. While at KSU, he joined the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and continued to play sports until graduating from the university in 1978.

Explosion and Recovery

After graduating from college, Saunders began training to become a federal inspector for the USDA. As an inspector, Saunders was responsible for checking export grain elevators at major ports. His work assignments included locations throughout the Gulf Coast region, and all along the eastern seaboard, from Florida to Nova Scotia.

Corpus Christi Public Grain Elevator Explosion

Corpus Christi Grain Elevator Explosion (April 7,1981) captured from across the bay.

On April 6, 1981, at the age of 23, Saunders identified and reported safety hazards at the Corpus Christi Public Grain Elevator, in Corpus Christi, Texas. He submitted recommendations outlining a temporary shutdown of the facility, and necessary repairs to resolve problems with the failing dust collection system. Management representatives met with the head engineer and declined to act on the inspection report, opting instead to continue normal operations.

The next day, on April 7th, an employee disregarded basic safety precautions during a routine Phostoxin pesticide application, triggering a spark in one of the silos with abnormally heavy grain dust concentrations. The suspended grain dust particles instantly ignited, producing a series of powerful explosions that ripped through the facility at a speed calculated in excess of 1,500 ft per second. The grain elevator’s silos (14-stories tall, 40 ft in diameter with reinforced walls up to 3 ft thick) were destroyed in seconds. There was massive loss of life as many grain elevator employees were either killed by the blast instantly or succumbed to fatal injuries in the moments that followed. Many others suffered severe, life-altering injuries.

Saunders was in the USDA government building when the largest explosion struck. Having heard the sudden blasts erupting just yards away, his last recollection of the event is that “the walls blew out in my face. The crackling and popping of the concrete being blown apart was so loud it felt like it was going to split my head wide open.”

He was instantly knocked unconscious and was blown through the roof of the building. Paramedics found Saunders over 300 ft away, a crumpled mass lying in a pool of blood on a concrete parking lot. Saunders’ injuries were so severe that he was “black-flagged” and not expected to survive. Because all ambulances on the scene were occupied by other survivors, Saunders was placed into a station wagon and driven to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital. His injuries included a fractured skull, collapsed lungs, shattered scapulas, various internal and external injuries and a severed spine at (T5). His body was broken over at the chest like most people bend at the waist when they bend to touch their toes. Doctors gave him less than 1% chance of survival.

As the explosion garnered national news coverage, doctors worked to first stabilize Saunders’ condition, and then to begin treating some of the injuries. He would spend nearly a year in the hospital and in rehabilitation, before being released in a wheelchair, completely paralyzed from the chest down. Saunders faced a difficult transition to life as a paraplegic, experiencing bouts of depression and emotional distress. He credits former rugby teammates and workout partners (Robert Hays and Bruce Acuna) with forcing him to get back into the gym. In addition to rebuilding his broken body, he was able to overcome feelings of depression and adapt to his new reality.

Athletic career

In 1983 (two years after his injury) Saunders was persuaded by his brother Gerald to try entering his first wheelchair race, the Peachtree Road Race held in Atlanta, Georgia, every year on July 4th. Gerald and his family were now living in Greenville, South Carolina, and they had learned that this was the largest 10K run in the world, offering a wheelchair division in addition to the standard foot race. Saunders signed up on the spot, though he had never trained for a wheelchair race. Nor did he have an understanding of the 10K distance in the early 1980’s, which was before the sport of running had become a mainstream activity. He also lacked the proper equipment, lining up at the start in a standard-issue hospital wheelchair unsuitable for racing. During the race he was unable to maintain pace with other competitors and was eventually disqualified once he was passed by the leading foot runners. Despite the early setback, however, he enjoyed this new sport and made a decision that he would become a better wheelchair athlete. He continued to enter competitions, finding success at the regional, and then national levels.

Kevin Saunders in the Olympic/Paralympic Village prepares for the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games.

In 1984, Saunders won the bronze medal in the National Wheelchair Athletic Association's Track and Field competition in Johnson City, Tennessee. He would go on to win hundreds of medals in both domestic and international competitions.

Saunders won many gold, silver and bronze medals at the National USA Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, and at various World Track & Field Competitions around the world. He was recognized as the Outstanding Male Athlete at the National and International Games on several occasions.

Saunders has also won many road races throughout the United States and in other countries. He has been a multiple national record holder, Pan American record holder, world record holder and Paralympic Games record holder.

Saunders won every race he competed in at the National Wheelchair Games, including distances from 100m to 5,000m. He also won field events including javelin, discus, swimming, air rifles and pistols, earning Best Athlete of the Games honors on several occasions.

After winning the World Track & Field Championships in England in 1989, Saunders was declared "The World's Greatest All-Around Wheelchair Athlete".[1] At the 1992 Paralympic Games Trials in Salt Lake City, Utah, Saunders broke the pentathlon world record, simultaneously setting a new Paralympic record. Saunders‘ athletic career as an elite wheelchair athlete spanned from 1984 to 2014, when he won the USA Track & Field (USATF) Half Marathon Championship in Houston, Texas.

Throughout his career, Saunders was a member of the National Wheelchair Athletic Association (NWAA), Wheelchair Sports, USA, and Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports, USA, now known as Adaptive Sports USA. Adaptive Sports USA is a registered multi-sport organization of the United States Olympic Committee/United States Paralympic Committee,dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles by implementing sports and recreation opportunities for children and adults with a physical disability.

In 2016, Saunders was inducted into the Hall of Fame, recognized for his outstanding achievements as a multiple World & International Champion, multiple Paralympic medalist, multiple Pan American Games medalist and record holder.

Kansas State Football

Saunders, shown addressing the 2016 Kansas State University Wildcats football team. Saunders serves as the team's motivational coach.

In 1991, driven by the desire to improve his race times, Saunders spent time at his alma mater, KSU. There, he collaborated with the Kansas State University College of Engineering to prototype faster and lighter wheelchair designs. Mutual friends introduced him to the newly hired football Head Coach Bill Snyder, who was impressed by Saunders' story and asked him to serve as the honorary motivational coach to the team.

Saunders remained in that role with the team through 2005, during which time the team went from being one of the worst in the country – ranked last among NCAA Division I-A teams in total offense – to one of the most consistent winners, including a run of 11 straight bowl games. The change in the program was later dubbed “the greatest turnaround in college football history.”

In 1993, Coach Bill Snyder created the "Kevin Saunders Never Give Up Award" for the Kansas State University football team. The award was given to the player who displayed the most courage, determination, dedication, and perseverance in the pursuit of team goals.^[2] Many of the award winners have gone on to professional NFL careers, including placekicker Martin Gramática, a member of the 2002 Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2001-02 Pro Bowl starter.

Kevin Saunders “Never Give Up” Award Recipients

Year	Name of Recipient	Position
2017	Dalvin Warmack	RB
	Alex Delton	QB
2016	Joe Hubener	QB
2015	Boston Stiverson	OG
	Charmeachealle Moore	LB
2014
2013	Daniel Sams	QB
	Tre Walker	LB
2012	Nick Puetz	OL
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006	Marcus Watts	Safety
2005	Jordan Bedore	OL
2004
2003	Thomas Hill	TE
2002	Rock Cartwright	FB
2001	Travis Wilson	FB
2000	Jonathan Beasley	QB
1999	Frank Murphy	RB
1998	Jeremy Martin	OG
1997	Travis Ochs	LB
	Martin Gramática	Placekicker
1996	Brian Kavanaugh	QB
1995	Joe Gordon	CB
1994	Rod Schiller	FB
1993	Kitt Rawlings	SS

Business Career

Kevin Saunders onstage during a keynote speech.

Saunders became a motivational speaker and consultant in 1984, shortly after winning the bronze medal at the USATF Championships in Johnson City, Tennessee. In 1989, Kevin Saunders worked alongside Tom Cruise and Oliver Stone as a principal actor during the filming of the Academy Award-winning film "Born on the Fourth of July" ^[3]. He has also been featured in over 50 TV commercials promoting safety, fitness, education, sports and wellness.

Saunders is also the author of five books:

• There’s Always a Way (1993)
• CENTAUR (1997) – the first comic book featuring a heart in a wheelchair
• Mission Possible (2003) 
• Conversations in Health & Fitness (2004)
• Blueprint for Success (2008)

As a motivational and safety speaker, Saunders speaks to different audiences, including corporate clients, non-profits, and students on topics ranging from motivation and peak performance to workplace safety.

Awards and Recognition

Kevin Saunders and Arnold Schwarzenegger pose for a photo in front of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition seal during an official ceremony. Bodybuilding legend and entrepreneur Joe Weider (left) applauds.

Aside from his athletic accomplishments, Saunders has received more than 100 commendations, proclamations, and awards for his work to improve health and fitness, education and nutrition, including the Torch of Freedom Award given to the year’s Outstanding Sports Figure and the Distinguished Service Award presented by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In 1993, Saunders was chosen as the outstanding Alumnus and given the award from Pratt Community College, Pratt, Kansas, where he played for the football team on scholarship.

In 1995, Saunders was recognized as Distinguished Alumnus from Kansas State University College of Agriculture.^[4] Saunders has also been recognized among Kansas State's 30 most famous alumni.[5]

In 2000, Saunders received a commendation for his outstanding contributions to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition from President Clinton Also in 2000, Kevin Saunders was nominated by Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, and received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in Washington, D.C. This national distinction was the culmination of nominations from over 1,500 member community colleges across America.^[5] Other recipients of the Outstanding Alumni Award include actors Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Arnold, filmmaker George Lucas, fashion designer Calvin Klein, MLB Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, and professional football coach Dick Vermeil, among other noteworthy individuals.

Philanthropy

Kevin Saunders poster used as giveaway in during motivational speaking tours.

In 1990, Kevin Saunders founded the Wheelchair Success Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing scholarships for college or technical schools to people with disabilities and permanently confined to a wheelchair.

“Every life has value. A disabled person, such as one confined permanently to a wheelchair, is not exempt from earning a college education and contributing to the growth of America. Persons permanently confined to wheelchairs are no less able to be successful college students or citizens,” says Saunders.

In 2004, Saunders founded the Fitness 4 All 50 State Tour, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to educating our nation’s youth, parents, teachers, and administrators about the importance of staying active and making healthy choices for balanced nutritional meals or healthy snacks. Saunders then embarked on the Fitness 4 All 50 States tour to promote lifelong health and fitness. He pushed his wheelchair across the USA, covering over 2,500 miles in his racing wheelchair. Along the way he received over 100 mayoral and state Governors Proclamations declaring "Kevin Saunders Day" for his work in promoting proper nutrition, health and fitness locally and nationally. In each state, he met with Governors and their Health & Human Resource teams, Mayors and their city councils, community business leaders and local students, educating them on the importance of staying physically active and eating healthy foods.

References

External links

• Kevin Saunders' official website
• : Kevin Saunders' College Scholarship Foundation