Author: Steve Baskis
Specialist Steven C. Baskis successfully completed Infantry Training at Fort Benning, Georgia in 2007. Steve deployed with the US Army’s distinguished 4th Infantry Division, a unit that crossed the Normandy Beaches in World War II.
In 2008, while serving in Baghdad, Iraq, Specialist Baskis suffered severe wounds by an improvised explosive device. May 13th, 2008 marked the day Baskis lost his sight and suffered multiple shrapnel injuries to his head, neck, arms and legs. Steve endured significant blood loss, hearing loss, loss of smell, and nerve damage to his left arm. Thanks to his courageous and selfless service, Steve was immediately awarded the Purple Heart Medal by the US President.
Today, nearly a dozen years post his original injuries, Steve is an established author, presenter, athlete, and motivator. In 2013, Steve received the prestigious Louis Braille Award for his outstanding contributions on behalf of the blind and visually impaired community. Moreover, Steve medaled at the National Level of both the Summer and Winter Paralympics. Perhaps his greatest source of pride comes with the establishment of his own non profit organization, Blind Endeavors.
Blind Endeavors is a non profit organization dedicated to challenging and inspiring people of all abilities to explore new ways of living through movement. The goal is to promote awareness and education in schools and institutions across the nation, conduct research and development related to the adaptive community, and build unique and unconventional programs and teams to pursue bold endeavors around the world.
It’s impossible to list all of Steve’s myriad of accomplishments. From appearing on The Today Show, to being featured in countless documentaries, and trekking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, Steve is undoubtably a vocal and visible advocate for the blind. He is continually pushing the limits both for himself and for the adaptive world. Never letting his traumatic experiences stop him, Steve is the quintessential human example of perseverance and resiliency.
Steve guarantees to enlighten and inspire you through his own stories from climbing four of the tallest peaks in the world, to cycling across the nation, kayaking the Colorado River, and so much more. Steve encourages us to not “Dis his ability” He says, “I may have lost my physical ability to see, but I have a new vision, a new perspective to guide me through life and all of its amazing challenges.”