Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports, USA

10/24/12

My name is Gregg Baumgarten and I am the newly elected Chairman of the Board of Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports USA.  For those of you who do not know me, I want to take the opportunity to introduce myself.  I have been involved in sports for the disabled for about 35 years, including a 25 year involvement with what was then known as the National Wheelchair Athletic Association.  My dear friend Jan Elix cornered me in a hotel elevator during a conference and threatened to not let me out until I committed!  I am a native of Wisconsin and yes, I am a Packer fan!  My undergraduate degree was from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and have graduate degrees and certifications from Arizona State University and the Northern Arizona University.  My professional background is as an Adapted and regular PE teacher, coach and athletic administrator for 24 years in the Mesa (AZ) Public Schools.  The past 10 years I have been a school and district administrator, having retired from those positions in May.  WASUSA represents the future of sports and recreation for athletes with disabilities in the United States.  I am honored and excited to be leading the effort to move our organization forward in the future.  Below is a link to the website that has my position paper that I shared with the delegates at NDA in Rochester, MN.  It is just a snapshot of my vision for the future but I wanted to share this with all of the membership.  I look forward to working with all of you to move WASUSA forward!