Dear JTCC Family,
We are delighted to extend an invitation to all of you to listen to a very special guest speaker at JTCC next week.
Details:
Speaker – Brad Snyder (Multiple Paralympic Gold Medalist and 2017 JTCC Gala Honoree)
Date – Wednesday April 11
Time – 5 pm
Venue – JTCC Study Hall (The modular building around the corner from court 13 and adjacent to the employee parking lot. There will be signs to guide you on the day)
Bio – Bradley “Brad” Snyder is the epitome of achieving greatness in the face of adversity. Snyder was born in Reno, Nevada and excelled in multiple sports growing up, including cross-country, track and field, and swimming. After graduating from high school in Florida, Snyder attended the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in naval architecture while also serving as captain of the swim team.
Snyder became a lieutenant in the US Navy, serving as an explosives ordnance disposal officer in Afghanistan. In September 2011, while attempting to help victims of a bombing in Kandahar, Snyder stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED), destroying his sight. Though his arms and legs were not affected, his eyes had to be removed and replaced with prosthetics.
Snyder has used competitive swimming as an outlet to overcome his injury and to show the people around him that he is making the most of his life. Since losing his sight, Snyder has competed in the Paralympic Games in London in 2012 and in Rio in 2016. In London, he won gold medals in the 400 and 100 meter freestyle races, including a victory exactly one year to the day that he lost his eyesight. In 2016 in Rio, Snyder won gold medals in three events including the 100 meter freestyle where he posted a blazing time of 56.15, breaking a 30-year old world record in the event.
In 2016, Snyder published his memoir entitled Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior’s Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory. He is a highly sought-after motivational speaker in addition to his ongoing training and competition in Paralympic swimming.
Brad is a very inspirational individual and you will find listening to his story extremely moving. Please do attend if you can. It would be appreciated if you could RSVP in advance to Will Hopton (whopton@jtcc.org) so we can accurately gauge the numbers for seating purposes.
