‘Yes You Can!’ Team Hoyt CEO to share family’s inspirational story at Rooster Booster
Russell Hoyt, President and CEO of The Hoyt Foundation, will share his family’s inspirational story as the featured speaker at Thursday’s Rooster Booster breakfast.
The program begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Owensboro Convention Center (501 West Second Street) and is sponsored by Wendell Foster. Register to attend here or call the Chamber office at 270-926-1860. The cost to attend is $15 for Chamber Members with reservations, $20 for Members with no reservations, and $25 for non-members.
In 1977, the legacy of the Hoyt family began when Rick Hoyt asked his father, Dick, to run together in a charity race benefiting a local lacrosse player who had become paralyzed. Rick experienced difficulties at birth, causing brain damage leading to cerebral palsy. He could not walk, talk, dress, or feed himself and utilized a wheelchair.
Dick, who was not trained in endurance running, pushed his son in his wheelchair for the 5-mile race and finished second to last.
After this race, Rick told his father, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.”
Dick and Rick eventually completed more than 1,000 endurance events, including 72 marathons, 32 Boston Marathons, and six Ironman Triathlons before their deaths in 2021 and 2022.
Russell’s role in Team Hoyt has been the man behind the scenes. Russell was in the transition pits at the Ironman Triathlon when Dick and Rick were the first duo to ever complete the event in 1989. In 1991 when Dick and Rick ran and biked across America, Russ was the General Manager. Russ navigated the route, booked the hotels, planned media stops, and made sure everyone completed the Hoyt Trek across America safely.
Russell continues the legacy of his father and brother as President and CEO of The Hoyt Foundation. The Foundation, founded in 1989, aims to build the individual character, self-confidence, and self-esteem of America’s young people with disabilities through inclusion in all facets of daily life, especially sports.
Before his role at The Hoyt Foundation, Russell’s work in disability services included serving for over 20 years as an Early Childhood Director for Integrated Preschool programs in two public school districts and becoming the state-wide Autism Specialist for Massachusetts.
Russell’s message will center around the phrase “Yes You Can,” encouraging people of all abilities to pursue their dreams.
“I am thrilled to be invited by Wendell Foster and the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce to travel to Kentucky to share the story of Team Hoyt: Yes You Can,” Russell said. “This story describes how parents believed in their son with a disability and said, ‘Yes You Can!’ to his many requests to be included in society. By including him in the sport of running, the Hoyt Family changed the world. Our family has created the Hoyt Foundation as a way to give back by helping others be supported in their desire to be included.”
By Ryan Richardson The Owensboro Times