Hall of Fame Categories of 2005

Hall of Fame Award had 10 categories in 2005.

Assistive Technology – Significant contributions made to improve health and/or quality of life for those individuals with SCI.

Research – Significant contributions which have or will lead to development of medical and/or scientific advancements relating to SCI, quality of life improvements or its cure.

Sports – An individual who has been a pioneer and/or achieved excellence in wheelchair sports.

Entrepreneur – An individual who created and operates a business providing products or services, which benefit individuals with SCI.

Benefactor – An individual, group or organization, that has provided significant financial support to the SCI community by promoting quality of life issues and/or research.

Legislative – An individual engaged in legislation on a local, county, state, or federal level, who has made significant contributions through the legislative process that have generated a positive impact in the lives of individuals with SCI.

Disability Awareness and/or Activism – An individual with SCI who has demonstrated a positive disability awareness to the general public through their visibility and education and/or has engaged in significant activism and advocacy to create systems change.

Entertainment – An individual working in the entertainment industry who has contributed significantly to the general public's understanding and/or education about SCI.

Media – An individual working in the media who has contributed significantly to the general public's understanding and/or education about SCI.

Corporate/Government Executive – An individual working in a large or medium size organization, who has helped to change the culture, improve accessibility, employment opportunities, or outreach of that organization as it interfaces with the general public.

Barry Corbet (1936 – 2004) - DISABILITY AWARENESS/ACTIVISM

Barry Corbet, perhaps best known to the disability community as the editor of New Mobility magazine from 1991 to 2000, was also a filmmaker and widely published author who chronicled the disability experience.

After his 1968 injury, Corbet shot three groundbreaking films about spinal cord injury: Changes , about coming to terms with SCI, Outside , about living an active life, and Survivors , about aging with a disability. In 1980 he wrote Options: Spinal Cord Injury and the Future , now in its 10th printing.

In 1963 Corbet, a member of the first American team to ascend Mount Everest's west ridge, yielded his place on the summit to his fellow mountaineers, figuring he'd return some day. But he never made it to Everest's summit, as in 1968 his helicopter crashed near Aspen, Colorado. The crash fractured Corbet's spine, causing a T12/L1 injury, and sending him down an unexpected path.

That path led to what he sometimes referred to as a “second life,” one very different from his first, but equally fulfilling. Corbet said. “Real life doesn't give a damn about the particulars of how you live it. It just keeps flowing and happening and creating and destroying … and you get the whole ball of wax, with or without a disability.”

Dr. Rory Cooper - ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Dr. Rory Cooper is Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh, and he is also the Director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories and VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Center of Excellence in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Cooper has been selected for numerous awards, including the Paralyzed Veterans of America “John Farkas Leadership Award”(1997, 1999) and the Dion-Johnson Award for Spinal Cord Research (2000).

Dr. Cooper has published widely and is the author of two books: “Rehabilitation Engineering Applied to Mobility and Manipulation”; and “Wheelchair Selection and Configuration”.

These accomplishments and awards are the result of Dr. Cooper's hard work and tireless effort in pursuit of the advancement of rehabilitation science and assistive technology. For over 15 years, Dr. Cooper has spearheaded research that has helped create the building blocks for advancing assistive technology, particularly wheelchair related technologies.

But Dr. Cooper has never been satisfied with just doing research – he has always worked hard to ensure that advances in science get out to the people that need it most. For instance, he initiated the creation of the Center for Assistive Technology (CAT), a clinic in Pittsburgh that provides services to individuals with disabilities who need assistive devices for mobility, hearing, speech, and other essential everyday needs.

Dr. Cooper is truly an exceptional person with rock-solid integrity, outstanding accomplishments, and an unyielding dedication to serving people with disabilities.

Duane Martin French - CORPORATE/GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE

Duane Martin French was born to Robert and Peg French on December 19, 1953 in Hastings, Nebraska. Duane has 5 wonderful brothers and sisters. At age 14, Duane's C 3 & 4 SCI occurred from diving into the Platt River.

Duane graduated from high school in 1973 and went on to receive his bachelor's and master's degrees in rehabilitation administration. Duane started his career as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and transitioned to Independent Living, progressing from Counselor to Executive Director of Access Alaska, the largest independent living center in Alaska.

In 1995, Governor Tony Knowles appointed Duane as Director of the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. He served in that position almost 8 years. Today, Duane works as the Director of the Division of Employment and Assistance Programs for the Washington State DSHS, Economic Services Administration.

Duane was a strenuous advocate for passage of the Air Carrier Access Act of 1996, Civil Rights Restoration Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Civil Rights Act of 1990 and other critical pieces of federal, state and local legislation.

Duane strives to live a soulful life making love the central focus of everything he does. Duane believes government and its leaders must every day commit to achieving a greater good for all humanity.

Marilyn Hamilton - ENTREPRENEUR

Marilyn Hamilton has been athletic and energetic since childhood, even after a 1978 hang gliding accident left her a paraplegic.

Dismayed by the prospect of living her life in a cumbersome 50-pound wheelchair, Marilyn channeled her energies into designing a lightweight, adjustable chair with a modular frame, responsive performance and a fun personality. The Quickie was born, and immediately revolutionized the wheelchair industry.

Marilyn co-founded Motion Designs in 1979 and began manufacturing the Quickie. In 1986, the company was purchased by Sunrise Medical, where Marilyn serves as Vice President of Global Strategic Planning.

Marilyn has touched millions of lives, and her story has appeared in books, magazines and national news programs including “60 Minutes.” She was named California Business Woman of the Year and is a member of the California Governor's Hall of Fame for People with Disabilities.

She also founded WOW (Winners on Wheels) – a scouting program for disabled children. An award-winning skier and tennis player, Marilyn has inspired a generation of wheelchair athletes. In fact, her story and tennis chair were included in the Smithsonian collection, and are now touring the country.

Marilyn Hamilton has given the world more than just a revolutionary wheelchair. She has given inspiration, encouragement and hope.

The Honorable Tom Harkin - Legislative

Senator Tom Harkin is a product of small town Iowa who has not forgotten his origins. He was born November 19, 1939 to a coal miner father and a Slovenian immigrant mother who passed away when Tom was ten years old. He earned his degree at Iowa State University in Government and Economics.

Tom Harkin has been a consistent supporter of the rights of people with disabilities. Tom's brother, Frank, was deaf since childhood, so Tom knows firsthand the challenges facing Americans with disabilities.

He authored the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, the landmark legislation that protects the civil rights of more than 54 million Americans with physical and mental disabilities. He's also led efforts to improve educational opportunities for children with disabilities.

He played a major role with NSCIA in bringing Ma'rwa Ahteemi to the United States for medical care. Ma'rwa is a 13 year old Iraqi child who sustained a spinal cord injury from an errant mortar attack.

Tom is also a long-time leader in the fight to improve health care. As ranking Democrat on the Senate panel that funds most health programs, he has fought to preserve and protect Social Security and Medicare and is now working to dedicate much of the budget surplus to shoring up these two vital programs.

John Hockenberry - Media

From covering the plight of Kurdish refugees in Iraq to advocating for the full inclusion of all people with disabilities, John Hockenberry has led by example in print, radio and television.

He is the recipient of three Peabody Awards and four Emmy Awards. For over twenty years he has been a sought-after journalist and commentator on a broad spectrum of subjects, including technology, design, architecture, the media, international conflicts, and fiction and has to his credit a huge body of work on disability issues.

He is, perhaps, best known for his critically acclaimed memoir, “Moving Violations - War Zones. “Moving Violations” was popular not only among people with disabilities, but with the general public as well. It was nominated for the National Book Award.

In all of his professional endeavors, John has an incredible flair for making the extraordinary seem reasonable and the inane seem humorous. 

To add that he did this while having a T-5 spinal cord injury would make most people think this was some sort of “inspirational guy”, but that is not a role or title he wants. He is fiercely independent and driven and has shown that the most basic instinct is to adapt and thrive in your environment.

Teddy Pendergrass - ENTERTAINMENT

Teddy Pendergrass was born on March 26, 1950 in Philadelphia, PA. He was raised by his mother, Ida Pendergrass, a God-fearing South Carolina sharecropper's daughter. It was Teddy's mother who discovered his voice when he was only 2 1/2 years old when he began singing in church.

In the fall of 1976, Teddy embarked on his solo career. He scored big right from the start with I Don't Love You Anymore, You Can't Hide from Yourself , Close The Door, Love TKO , and Turn Off The Lights.

On March 18, 1982, Teddy's life was changed dramatically and forever when a horrifying auto accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. He spent the next six months in the hospital and in rehab before returning home.

Teddy returned to recording the year after his accident and recorded Love Language . The year 1985 also marked Teddy's return to the stage with a stirring appearance at Live Aid. The following year, Teddy had an autobiography published entitled Truly Blessed.

Teddy has become an outspoken advocate for the disabled. He recently founded the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, (TPA) a national organization that helps people with spinal cord injury (SCI) rebuild their lives.

Christopher Reeve (1952 – 2004) - BENEFACTOR

Since the time he was paralyzed in 1995, renowned actor Christopher Reeve put a human face on spinal cord injury.

In his first major role since becoming paralyzed, Reeve starred in the classic Hitchcock thriller “Rear Window,” for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

In 1999, Reeve became the Chairman of the Board of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF).  CRPF, a national, nonprofit organization, supports research to develop effective treatments and a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders.  CRPF also allocates resources to grants that improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. 

As Vice Chairman of the National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.), he worked on quality of life issues for the disabled. Reeve served on the Board of Directors of World T.E.A.M. Sports, a group that organizes and sponsors challenging sporting events for athletes with disabilities; TechHealth, a private company that assists in the relationship between patients and their insurance companies; and LIFE (Leaders in Furthering Education) a charitable organization that supports education and opportunities for the underserved population.

Christopher Reeve died October 10, 2004.  He was 52 years old.  Reeve is survived by his mother Barbara Johnson and his father Franklin Reeve, his brother Benjamin Reeve, his wife Dana, their twelve year old son Will and his two children from a former relationship, Matthew (25) and Alexandra (21).

Randy Snow - Sports

Randy Snow is an achiever, despite the fact that he has spent most of his life in a wheelchair. At the age of 16, Randy was working on a farm when a 1000-pound bale of hay crushed him, leaving him a paraplegic.

Initially discouraged with his new life, Randy soon realized that change was less painful than staying the same. Eventually, he not only accepted his life, he embraced it, discovering new options and opportunities for achievement.

And achieve he did. Randy won ten US Open tennis singles titles, and earned a silver medal in an exhibition race at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Randy is the only athlete in history to compete in three different summer Paralympic Games and earn medals in three different sports.

Because of his pioneering achievements, Randy received the Paralympic torch from President Clinton to launch the Atlanta Paralympic Games in 1996. And in 2004, he was the first Paralympian inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame.

Today, Randy is an award-winning author, a Fortune 500 speaker and the president of NOXQs (No Excuse), Inc., an achievement company. And he still inspires people to respond to life changes by discovering new options and opportunities.

Wise Young - Research

Wise Young, Ph.D., M.D., is founding director of the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience and a professor at Rutgers University. In 1984, he became director of neurosurgery research. In 1997, as part of Rutgers' commitment to the future, Dr. Young was recruited to establish and direct a world-class center for collaborative neuroscience.

Dr. Young was part of the team that discovered and established high-dose methylprednisolone (MP) as the first effective therapy for spinal cord injuries. This team also played a major role in Andy Blight's signal work on 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), which shows significant promise for increasing nerve conductivity.

Dr. Young developed the first standardized rat spinal cord injury model used worldwide for testing therapies, formed the first consortium funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test promising therapies, and helped establish several widely accepted clinical outcome measures in spinal cord injury research.

Dr. Young founded and served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurotrauma . He serves or has served on advisory committees for the NIH, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and has served on advisory boards for many spinal cord injury organizations.

2006 Hall of Fame

Next year's event is already being planned. Visit this website for details as they become available. NSCIA members will be notified about the next year's event through SCI Life and via email. If you are not a member, join NSCIA today (IT'S FREE FOR INDIVIDUALS). If you are interested in helping us with next year's event, please contact K. Eric Larson.

Nominations for 2006

NSCIA will be accepting nominations for 2006 Hall of Fame inductees in the coming months. NSCIA members will be notified about the timing and process of nominations and voting through SCI Life and via email. If you are not a member, join NSCIA today (IT'S FREE FOR INDIVIDUALS). Please note that only NSCIA members can vote for Hall of Fame candidates.