NEWSMAKERS: KEN WEICHERT

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Updated: November 24, 2011 3:34AM

Injury changes goal

Park Ridge native and international speaker Ken Weichert addressed a crowd of about 500 Illinois National Guard soldiers and airmen and their families April 30 at the combined Illinois National Guard Senior Leader and Family Conferences at the Hilton Chicago.

Weichert is known to most Guard troops as “Sgt. Ken,” the pseudonym used in Guard Experience (GX) Magazine for the fitness column he writes with his wife, Stephanie. An Army master fitness and master resilience trainer, Weichert combined his love of physical training and mental resilience in teaching soldiers and families throughout the day.

Weichert was a high school football star when a spinal vertebrate injury dashed his dreams of a college football scholarship and career as a professional athlete. Learning to walk again became his main priority, he said. After more than a year recovering, Weichert joined the active Army and, later, the Army National Guard. His Army career included six “Soldier of the Year” awards.