Lee Meyer – Athletic Training Today

Article reposted from Stevens Point Journal
Author: Stevens Point Journal

Seven alumni, including four from Central Wisconsin, will be honored for achievement and service as the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point marks homecoming weekend.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards Saturday, Oct. 15, will recognize an alumnus from each of the four colleges: Dick Okray, ’82, of the College of Professional Studies; Mari Regnier, master’s ’86, of the College of Fine Arts and Communication; Brig. Gen. Mark E. Anderson, ’86, of the College of Natural Resources; and Pat Fortune, ‘69, of the College of Letters and Science.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Jim King, ’68, and his wife, Jean, for their commitment to the Stevens Point and Pointer communities. The Trailblazer Award will be presented to Lee Meyer, ’08, for exceptional achievement within 10 years of graduating. The Mary Ann Nigbor Volunteer of the Year Award will be given to Dianne Somers, ’68, for service to the potato industry.

Okray is president of Okray Family Farms, Inc., Plover, which was originally founded by his grandfather in 1905. He is active in the potato industry at the state, national and international levels, traveling to China to attend the World Potato Congress. Okray has worked with UW-Madison on biomass projects and opens his home to UW-Stevens Point international students. He majored in economics.

Regnier, Chicago, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, works with clients from the Pacific Rim that do business in the U.S. and overseas. A native of Japan, she received her law degree from Indiana University Law School. She completed a master’s in communication at UW-Stevens Point.

Fortune, Cambridge, Mass., is partner at Boston Millennia Partners, a health care and life sciences venture capital firm with more than $700 million under management. He has nurtured start-up activities from idea to prototype to standalone business and has been involved in more than 30 merger and acquisition transactions throughout his career. He majored in chemistry and math at UW-Stevens Point.

Anderson, Wisconsin Rapids, serves as Wisconsin’s Deputy Adjutant General for the U.S. Army. He also serves as the special assistant to the Chief of the National Guard – Diversity. He is responsible for advising the chief on matters relating to Department of Defense policy or programs that affect diversity in the Army and Air National Guard. He majored in water resources at UW-Stevens Point.

The Kings have served Stevens Point since starting their school software company, Skyward, Inc., in 1981. With more than 550 employees, hundreds of whom are UW-Stevens Point graduates, the Kings committed to keeping Skyward in Stevens Point and growing its workforce. Jim majored in math and economics at UW-Stevens Point. He and Jean, Plainfield, are loyal Pointer athletic and arts fans.

Meyer, Trenton, N.J., is an athletic trainer with the New York Yankees AA affiliates and has worked as an athletic trainer with baseball teams since 2006. After receiving his bachelor’s in athletic training from UW-Stevens Point, he completed his master’s in sports management from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Somers and her husband, Nick, own Plover River Farms, a 400-acre potato farm in Portage County. She has been active in the Wisconsin potato industry for many years and served on several committees for the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association. In 2015, she won its Agri-Communicator Award. Somers, Stevens Point, majored in music at UW-Stevens Point.

Lee Meyer is in the business of making people better, but now the Thunder’s athletic trainer needs help to save a little girl.

Meyer plans to compete in a half-Ironman in September to help raise money for Valeria Castillo Gonzalez, a 3-year old girl who needs surgery to correct a congenital heart disease.

“Every little bit counts,” Meyer said. “Trying to help here as much as we can. She’s only three, she can’t really do anything about it. Her parents are doing everything they can, but they could sell their home and it’s not really going to get them anywhere. They’re trying to raise this money, and I’m just trying to help out any way I can.”

Meyer learned about Valeria through his girlfriend, Claudia Cabrera, whom he met while working with a winter ball team in Venezuela. Meyer said one of Caberer’s best friends in a godfather to young Valeria, and when he found out about her case, he wanted to help out.

Valeria’s family needs to raise $45,000 to help cover medical costs, travel and accommodations because the family needs to go from its native Venezuela to Jacksonville, Florida where Valeria has been give a referral to undergo the procedure that will save her life.

“Half of her heart is growing faster than the other half,” Meyer said. “There’s a little hole in her heart that needs to be closed. Sometimes when kids age, by the time they are 3 or 4 years old, it will close up on its own, her’s isn’t. She has to have a procedure to get that valve closed.”

Because Venezuela doesn’t have the technology or doctors to perform the procedure, Valeria needs to come to America.

Valeria’s family has started a gofundme page, which has already raised over $15,000.

Meyer also created a gofundme page for his race with all proceeds going to help Valeria.

Meyer has already got donations from several Thunder players including Dan Fiorito and Taylor Dugas.

“We always joke, he’s in the business of getting people better,” Dugas said. “He’s always taking care of us, so any little thing we can do to help him, we love to do it.”

Fiorito laughed at the notion he could complete an Ironman, saying he’ll stick to sprinting 90-feet at a time. But he, like his teammate Dugas, knows this is an important cause for a member of the Thunder family.

“It’s a story where we can help out as a team,” Fiorito said. “Lee’s an unbelievable guy. He does a lot for us around here and he’s a great friend. … Most importantly, and he would agree, the money is going towards a great cause. A little girl has been given a tough break so far, and hopefully the money we’ve gathered will be able to help out.”

Meyer’s half-Ironman is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Mt. Sterling, Ohio. The race features a 1.2-mile swim, 56 miles on a bike and a 13.6-mile run.

In order to prepare, he’s been training non-stop for several months.

“A friend of mine is a tri-athlon coach, so he’s helping me so we can amp it up the right way,” Meyer said. “It’s nice that I’m an athletic trainer so if something starts to bother me, I can just knock it out. I haven’t done one this long ever. I’ve been building my base up since February and March. I knew I wanted to do one, and when I heard about Valeria in April, I was like, ‘this is a really good opportunity to raise some money for her.’

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

http://www.trentonian.com/sports/20150728/thunder-athletic-trainer-lee-meyer-competing-in-half-ironman-to-help-3-year-old-in-need-of-heart-procedure

Tag: Lee Meyer

Athletic Trainer Receives Alumni Award

Thunder athletic trainer Lee Meyer competing in half-Ironman to help 3-year old in need of heart procedure