Posts Tagged ‘Duane Morrow’
(Part Three in the Duane Morrow Series)
Duane Morrow had to travel a little farther than usual for his most recent race – 6,862 miles, in fact. He was nervous about this competition – it had been less than a year since he’d undergone additional neck surgery, and he was unsure of his ability to race well. He contemplated what kind of pain he’d be in during and after the Oita International Wheelchair Half Marathon. He wondered if it would be worth it.
As he stretched, he found himself surveying the other racers, determining who would be the top competitors. He figured out who he’d need to keep pace with and who he’d need to beat in order to bring his team (The Shepherd Center Spinners) to victory. He looked up at the rainy Oita, Japan, sky and around at all the other athletes. He knew he’d have to do his best – be his best – to win. So, in true Duane Morrow fashion, he was his best. And he won.
(To learn more about Duane’s amazing story of survival and recovery, read “The Adventure Continues.”)
Prepping for the Race
Primerica EVP and world-class athlete, Duane Morrow was the only American competing in the T52 Quad Division. The 44-year-old quadriplegic athlete crossed the finish line first, beating his personal best for the 13.1-mile tear at just 1:06:31. He gives some of the credit for his top showing to his racer – a real Georgia-made machine that sports the distinct University of Georgia “G” and the red and black that are so dear to his heart. The chair weighs about 23 lbs. and is composed of titanium, aluminum and carbon fiber components, much like top-end bicycles.
Even with a boss chair and rigorous training, Duane was surprised to win the largest and best-organized race of its kind in the world. (He dismissed his training schedule as just three to four days a week in a wheelchair doing some type of extreme exercise. “You know, rugby, racing or hand cycling,” he added, nonchalantly.)
When he crossed the finish line, he was just thankful to have run a good race, he recalled. “My GPS showed me that I’d beat my personal best and had done enough to beat the 2010 winner’s time, but it wasn’t until a reporter approached me for an interview that I knew I’d won first place,” he remembered. He was even happier to learn that Kevin Scott Stokes, also from a Shepherd Center team, did a personal best of 1:30:46 and placed first in the T51 Quad Division. (Kevin will be in England in 2012 representing the United States in the track and field events.)
With his personal translator and assistant, Duane braved the interview circuit, receiving accolades from the Oita mayor and high-ranking military officials and sharing his story of perseverance. Then he quietly and quickly made himself scarce. He had another important event to attend less than 24 hours later. Duane woke at 4 o’clock the next morning, took two buses, two planes and a car ride to make it back to Georgia just in time to drive the tractor pulling the Morrow “Fab Five” (his five children) and their friends around the neighborhood for trick-or-treating.
If you think something can’t be done, just ask Duane Morrow. If it’s worth it, he’d say, your doubt is the only thing standing in your way.
Tags: Duane Morrow, Japan, marathon, Oita, Oita International Wheelchair Half Marathon, Primerica, Shepherd Center, Shepherd Center Spinners, Shepherd Spinal Center, wheel chair
Posted in Primerica |
The new, rapid-issue Primerica Life Insurance product, TermNow, was introduced in front of 40,000 excited attendees at Primerica’s huge June 2011 convention in downtown Atlanta. TermNow is now on the market in all US states and in Canada.
“TermNow is going to revolutionize how life insurance is provided to Main Street families,” said Duane Morrow, Executive Vice President, Life Marketing.
The TermNow product is unique in the life insurance industry in that it is underwritten electronically to qualifying clients within an average of less than 60 seconds after completion of a short questionnaire – often only consisting of seven basic health questions. There are no saliva or blood tests for TermNow coverage. The questionnaire can be completed online by computer or smartphone. An email confirming coverage is sent to the client within minutes of applying.
“One of the biggest barriers to getting families the coverage they need, as any life insurance representative will tell you, is procrastination,” said Morrow. “TermNow is the answer to procrastination because the majority of clients can be almost instantly covered with a TermNow policy.”
As with all life coverage issued through Primerica, TermNow offers coverage on one policy for the entire family through spouse and child riders, saving on annual policy fees that are almost universal throughout the industry. Another unusual feature is a term duration of up to 35 years available in most states.
Tags: Duane Morrow, families, life insurance, main street, Primerica, primerica life insurance, Primerica TermNow, Rapid Issue Insurance, term life insurance, Term Now, TermNow
Posted in Company, Primerica |
Last year, the Shepherd Center admitted 947 people to its inpatient programs and 538 people to its day patient programs. Ranked in the Top Ten rehabilitation hospitals in the nation, they see more than 6,000 people a year as outpatients – and all of them have had spinal cord or brain injuries.
Duane Morrow, Primerica’s Executive Vice President of Field Marketing, visits many of these patients, reminding them that, despite their circumstances, life can still be a full, beautiful experience. A trustee of the board of directors of the Shepherd Center Foundation, Duane hands out copies of his book “Y Not You” and visits with anyone willing to hear his message of hope and gratitude. Duane was once a patient at the Shepherd Center himself.
(To learn more about Duane’s amazing story of survival and recovery, read “The Adventure Continues.”)
Doing What Matters
Now, Duane helps the center because, “life with purpose and significance is a blessed life.” The center gave so much to him, he says, and mentoring people who have the same challenges he once had gives new meaning to his life. “When someone can work to be independent again, witnessing that transformation changes lives and shows people that there is no such thing as impossible,” he says.
He believes so strongly in what the center has to offer that he has become a member of their coveted Bridge Builders Society, meaning he has made provisions for them in his estate plans.
Duane explains, “The people at the Shepherd Center make it different from anywhere else. Their attitude, expertise and willingness to help make all the difference. Plus, the center pushes the limits on technology and research and implement it into aggressive therapy.” That’s why he wants to leave a legacy of service to the organization long after he’s gone. But for now, he’s content knocking on doors and spending a little time helping new patients get accustomed to their “new normal.”
“Every time a friend or therapist asks me to visit with a new patient, I go. I truly believe that I get more out of it than they do – every time. It’s the job I get to do, not one I have to do. There is where I really get paid in the currency that matters most: a life of purpose and significance.”
Tags: Bridge Builders Society, Duane Morrow, Primerica, Primerica Executive Vice President of Field Marketing, quadriplegic, Shepherd Center, Shepherd Center Foundation
Posted in Community, Primerica |
He’s a competitive racer ranking fastest in the U.S. – second in the world. He plays rugby, golf and tennis. He even water skis, snow skis and dives for fun. And, by the way, he’s quadriplegic.
Duane Morrow, Primerica’s Executive Vice President of Field Marketing, was living and working in England when he broke his neck during a rugby game in 2004. He was paralyzed from the chest down, but, for this tenacious athlete, life didn’t end. It simply changed … and he adapted.
Life 2.0
After surgery and months of inpatient rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Morrow was ready for more. He had been told that there was a 99% chance he’d never walk again, but he rebuked those odds. He asked his nurses to wake him up at 5 a.m. so he could be at the gym at 6 a.m. when it opened. He worked out for hours, trying to retrain his body to walk.
Morrow saw how the therapy was helping him over time. He met with Shepherd Center officials to try to establish an extreme therapy program for other athletes who wanted to go beyond traditional treatments. While the center was not equipped for the program at the time, only four months later, Morrow got a call from Gary Ulicny, president of the Shepherd Center. He wanted to try it out. Beyond Therapy was born. Now, two years later, the program has doubled in size. Plus, there’s a 100-person waiting list … and Morrow is the spokesperson. His Primerica family is not surprised. Morrow’s excitement and determination have become a banner – an example of what it means to be a Primerica rep.
That drive, a “saint” for a wife, hard work and top-notch technology – like robotic treadmills – helped him to begin standing with assistance, Morrow says. But he gives the real credit where he says credit is due: “Doctors don’t know everything. God’s pretty cool.” Today he has renewed use of his arms and hands, and even walks with the use of a cane.
While he’s no longer an inpatient at the Shepherd Center, Morrow still receives physical therapy there. When he’s not traveling the country on Primerica business, he routinely walks seven flights of stairs. He throws medicine balls and he runs in the pool. He’s hardcore. “You can adapt, or you can go into a cave and give up,” Morrow says. “The technology exists. You can figure it out.”
Now Morrow is helping other people “find their new normal.” He visits Shepherd’s patients often – even those he’s never met before. He explains that people who once took 15-20 minutes to get ready in the morning are now taking 1-2 hours. Their lives have changed dramatically on all levels and, according to him, there are certain things that are better learned from someone who’s figured out how to live this new life. So, why has he taken on this personal mission? “Everyone wants to live a life of significance,” he says. “That’s real wealth.”
It Ain’t Over
He’s convinced (and convincing!) that people with physical disabilities can lead extreme lives. For the past four years, he’s participated in an Adventure Skills Workshop sponsored by the Shepherd Center – two years as a patient, two as a volunteer counselor. People with all degrees of ability attend these workshops to participate in rugby, rock wall climbing, tubing, fishing, water skiing, zip lining and more! Morrow says the real advantage is that they get to be with 200 other people who are looking for their new normal, too. Many of them find it there, too. One man at a recent camp says he thought he would never hunt again. But, with the help of harnesses and assistance, he was able to find a new way to do something he always loved.
Making It Work
For Morrow, this whole experience has been a lesson in perseverance. It’s a lesson that he believes able-bodied people can learn, too. He tells how people can begin learning from the disabled: First, he says, don’t let little inadequacies embarrass you. Work through them. Second, introduce children to people with disabilities. That way, it’s not uncomfortable to them when they are in close quarters with someone in a wheelchair. Plus, they’ll learn that setbacks don’t have to mean the end of the world. Finally, ask before helping a disabled person, and don’t be offended if he or she says, “no.” They don’t need as much help as we think, he says. Besides, some disabled people, like Morrow himself, can be more “able” than the rest of us!
Tags: Adventure Skills Workshop, disabled, Duane Morrow, handicapped, quadriplegic, rugby, Shepherd Spinal Center, wheelchair
Posted in Primerica |
