Photo by Deb Gau U.S. Navy veteran Joseph Wittkamp got applause as he took a ride in a new trackchair in Marshall on Tuesday. Local partners including U.S. Bank, the Action Foundation, and VETCares came together to give Wittkamp a trackchair.

MARSHALL — Joseph Wittkamp is already an athlete who has competed in wheelchair basketball, softball and power lifting. But a new trackchair built in Marshall will still open up new opportunities for him, he said.

“I’m excited. This is going to be a game-changer for me when it comes to hunting and fishing,” said Wittkamp.

The Jackson, Ohio, resident and U.S. Navy veteran came to Marshall this week to formally receive his trackchair.

On Tuesday, representatives of U.S. Bank, the Action Foundation, and the nonprofit VETCares program gathered in Marshall to celebrate Wittkamp and present him with the chair. The event wasn’t just about a giveaway, presenters said. It was about honoring a veteran, husband and father.

The trackchair presentation was organized through a partnership including U.S. Bank.

“At U.S. Bank, we believe in giving back to our communities where we live and work,” said Tina Eickhoff, senior vice president of equipment finance at U.S. Bank. “One of the key parts of a thriving community is the ability to play, and play through having access to spaces that give people an ability to be creative, and through recreation. This trackchair donation is a fine example of that commitment.”

Eickhoff also said U.S. Bank supports veterans and military families.

Audra Klinkner, executive director of the Action Foundation, said the partnership that made it possible to give Wittkamp greater mobility grew out of the foundation’s work to support U.S. veterans and outdoor accessibility. In September, Klinkner was in Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin about the Action Foundation’s mission to expand access to the outdoors to people with disabilities.

On the same day, Klinkner said, she received a message from a U.S. Bank representative asking about giving away a trackchair.

“That last September was when it started, and the conversations have continued,” Klinkner said. “I’m excited, because I think it will continue with U.S. Bank, and this opportunity to get more people outside, and freedom to be outdoors.”

John Miller, program coordinator of VETCares, shared Wittkamp’s biography at Tuesday’s presentation. Wittkamp served in the Navy on the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, Miller said.

“For those who may not know, working on a flight deck is extremely dangerous. It’s not easy work,” Miller said.

Wittkamp completed two deployments, including in Operation Desert Storm, Miller said. In 1993, a serious auto accident paralyzed Wittkamp from the waist down, but it did not stop him.

“Joe continued to challenge himself in ways that most people would find absolutely remarkable,” Miller said. Wittkamp competed nationally in wheelchair basketball, internationally in wheelchair softball, and represented the U.S. in disabled power lifting.

Miller said Tuesday’s trackchair presentation mattered, because it made it possible for Wittkamp to enjoy the outdoors, without barriers from turf, uneven ground or slopes.

“Sometimes freedom looks simple. Freedom looks like getting to your favorite hunting spot. It looks like going outside with your wife,” Miller said.

Wittkamp said he learned he had an opportunity to receive a trackchair about two months ago, and learned he would be receiving a chair last month. On Monday, he had a chance to test out the trackchair and its attachments and toured the ATZ Manufacturing facility in Marshall.

While Wittkamp said he was looking forward to being able to hunt and do other outdoor activities in the all-terrain chair, it won’t be the very first thing he does.

“The first thing I’ll probably do is take it up to my neighbors so they can see it, because they have a son who has cerebral palsy,” he said. “I told them, anytime you would like to use it as well, he could use it.”

Wittkamp said he wanted thank all the people who made Tuesday’s presentation happen.

Klinkner said the Action Foundation is continuing to move forward with accessibility programs like the Tow and Go program, which provides a mobile lending service for outdoor accessibility equipment. She said the program had about 32 users in its first week.

“We’ve had a couple of demo days,” Klinkner said.

One demonstration brought residents at Boulder Estates in Marshall out to Independence Park with mobility equipment.

Through the program, individuals can borrow mobility equipment in southwest Minnesota, Klinkner said. However, the goal is to grow the program into something that can be a national model.