Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2017!

My wife Dora and our family would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We are very grateful for all the many blessings we have received this year! We are very thankful to have had another year of good health, happiness and steady work for us all!

Thanks to all the readers of our Newsletters – we want to wish each of you a very Happy Holiday season with your family and friends!

This year we have been very blessed and honored to have had a full year of speaking to Fortune 100 and 500 companies. We have also been blessed to speak to many schools, associations and non-profits, bringing a message of Never Giving Up in pursuing your dreams.

We are thankful that our son, Steven, his wife Robin, and their family are all doing well. Steven has been given a new challenge as a manager at Wal-Mart. We know he’ll waste no time in getting the Super Center store in Lawrence, KS, running smoothly. Steven has worked very long and hard for this, and is being recognized for his great accomplishments. In no time, he’ll be running his own store!

Our new grandson, Vaughn, is growing so quickly! He just had his third Birthday and he is really getting to be a big boy. He wears size 4 – a size bigger than he is – and he is always filled with energy! Much like the Ever Ready Bunny, he keeps going and going and always really fast! He never slows for a moment, no matter what direction he may be going!

My alma mater, Kansas State University, is headed for the Texas Bowl in Houston, TX, to play the Texas A&M Aggies on December 28, 2016 at NRG Stadium – the home of the Texans NFL team. We know our players are ready to fight hard all game long and get their 9th win this season! I’m honored to keep working with the Wildcats as a motivational coach, something I’ve been honored to do since 1991 to the present.

Another highlight this year is that I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Class of 2016 as a wheelchair athlete.

Thanks to all the people who made that possible at Adaptive Sports across America! People like Denise Hutchins, who I’ve been fortunate to know since the mid-1980s. Denise lives in Tulsa, OK, and is a Physical Therapist who travels around the world to work with and help athletes with disabilities on behalf of Adaptive Sports USA.

When I was competing as an elite wheelchair athlete in the 1980’s and 90’s the organization was known as the National Wheelchair Athletic Association or NWAA. In  order to compete at the world games it was necessary to qualify for our National Games at the Regional level then from there it was necessary to finish in the top three in more than one event at the National level so you could qualify for the World Games, Pan American Games or Paralympic Games. Every 4 years they hold the Paralympic trials again it was necessary to not only finish in the top three in the USA but in more than one event. Again it was a very humbling honor to be selected to the Class of 2016 Hall of Fame.

What’s next? As we make our plans to take our fitness to the next level in the coming year, we are excited about getting all our hormones and enzymes in check, getting the right vitamins and minerals in the foods we eat, and committing to a regular workout routine. For me, this is a must, as I have to do everything with my upper body – I count on body strength in order to get in and out of a car, get on or off training equipment, and power my hand-cycle, just to name a few.

We are also blessed with many speaking engagements booked already for 2017. We want to thank all the corporations, companies, schools and fitness organizations who have helped make that possible…those we’ve worked with in the past, and those who we’re planning great things with in the future.

As we commit to making this 2017 year one of the best ever, we would like to challenge all our readers to do the same and set and reach new goals at your work or in your business. And to make improvements in your personal life as well, like making sure you are working out to stay fit, and continually reaching new levels of excellence and achievement in all you do!

We wish you all good tidings, and may your Holiday season be filled with great achievement, good health, love and success!

Keep Going for the GOLD! Never Give Up!

Kevin Saunders