Scot Severn
2005 Male Athlete of the Year

The Athlete of the Year award celebrates the accomplishments of a an athlete with a disability for their athletic achievements over the past year and the 2005 Male Athlete of the Year's list of awards for this past year is extraordinary.

In 1989 Scot Severn suffered paralysis from a lightning accident while in the military reserves standing guard at Camp Grayling. It was after the accident when Scot decided he needed to get physically active so he could continuing living life and set a good example for others. His athletic pursuits led him to an amazing year in 2004 and he is living proof that you can excel at more than one sport if you focus your eyes on your goal.

At the 2004 Michigan Wheelchair Games, Scot was a gold medalist in Bowling, Air-Rifle, Discus, and 50M Freestyle Swimming, the silver medalist in Javelin, and the bronze medalist in Shot. In the 2004 Ohio Wheelchair Games, he is the State Record Holder and Gold Medalist in Bowling and Discus. In addition, at the Ohio Wheelchair Games he also won gold in the 50M and 100M Freestyle Swimming and Javelin, silver in Shot Put, and bronze in rifle. At the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, he was the gold medalist in Bowling, Swimming, Table Tennis, and Air Guns and the silver medalist in Discus. In 2004 Scot was also awarded the 2004 Sportsmanship Award from the Great Lakes Rugby Rage and the 2004 Best Overall Marksman from the 1st Annual Wheelin' 457 Competition.

He is a member of the Great Lakes Storm Rugby Team and enjoys golf, hand cycling, wheelchair basketball, snowmobile, horseshoes, fishing and billiards. He serves the community by being an active board member with the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Lightning Strike and Electrical Shock Victims International, Wheelin' Team 457, and he is the President of the Wheelin' Sportsman Michigan Chapter. He also spends his free time upgrading and fixing sports wheelchairs for those less fortunate and volunteers for the PVA Awareness program at Sandusky Middle School. Scot is a contributing writer for magazines published by the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

In 1994 Scot graduated from Saginaw Valley State University with a degree in Business Administration and he resides in Caro, Michigan. Scot was nominated for this award by his Wheelin' 457 Teammate and Hall of Fame Alumni member, Ray Brown.

Congratulations Scot!