Bob Meserve
Recreation/Development | 2009
Hometown: Fort Collins, Colorado
School Name: Vail Ski Resort
Bob Meserve grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, where he began skiing with his family at the age of four. He was an avid skier through high school and eventually ended up in Vail. On a fateful February day in 1983, Bob suffered a severe crash, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Rather than give up the sport he loved, Bob committed to transforming himself into a force in the world of sit-skiing. He learned to sit-ski at Winter Park, initially wiping out every 15 feet down the mountain. Eventually, he was commanding the slopes.
As time went on and he developed into a very skillful sit-skier, Bob had a desire to return to Vail to complete the run that left him injured. At the time, Vail did not allow any assistive devices for use by individuals with disabilities on the slopes. Bob and friends wrote letters, made phone calls, engaged in an advocacy campaign and, as a result, Bob Meserve was the very first sit-skier in the history of Vail Ski Resort to run the slopes.
Bob also qualified for the U.S. Disabled Ski Team from 1989 – 1993, winning Paralympic medals, and advising the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. In 1992, Bob began serving as the Winter Athlete Representative of the National Board of Directors for Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA). A few years later he would become President of the Board of Directors and remained in that position until 2018.
In 1994, the U.S. Disabled Ski Team was on the verge of bankruptcy and risked being dissolved. Bob reached out to a longtime friend in the cable TV industry to brainstorm potential solutions. What came out of those discussions was “Adaptive Spirit”, the largest annual fundraiser for the U.S. Paralympic Ski Team. More than $100,000 was raised that first year and has been the primary source of income for the team since.
