Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1504946
SUMMER / FALL 2023 37 Athletic Committee 2013–2016 & 2021–2022 Chair 2021–2022 Food & Beverage Committee 2016–2019 2nd Vice Chair 2017–2019 Membership & Marketing Committee 2019–2021 1st Vice Chair 2019–2020 Chair 2020–2021 Board of Governors 2017–present Roger Wylie Member since 1997 A leader on the run Roger began volunteering on WAC com- mittees 10 years ago. He was recruited onto the Athletic Committee by member Joe Velling. "We were both in very hard jobs and we supported each other," recalls Joe, a retired federal agent. "I realized that here was a guy that would make a great teammate, thick or thin. is was a talent that the WAC needed to tap into." At the time, Roger and Joe were part of a WAC running group. eir typical route looped to Volunteer Park and back. "I've been running for as long as I can remember," Roger says. "My sister and brother and I all ran high school cross-country." He's also run multiple half-marathons and one full. Seven years ago, however, his running career came to a sudden halt. "I got back from a golf trip and my wife said, 'What happened to your legs?'" From his knees down they were entirely swollen. Aer visiting multiple doctors, he was finally diagnosed with a rare autoim- mune disease that causes inflammatory arthritis. In addition to medication, he began regular physical therapy, personal training, and nutrition counseling at the WAC. "e WAC became the center of my medical universe," he says. "e WAC has made the disease manageable for me. I would not have been able to stay active without all the help that I got here." Roger says he's back to about 85 percent, though his runs are now limited to three or four miles, oen through Discovery Park, which is just a few blocks from his house. He joined the Board of Governors in 2017. "Roger's WAC life is a full rundown of what the Club can mean to people," President & CEO Chuck Nelson says. "Community, social and professional con- nection, health and fun. He knows what the WAC is all about, and his commit- ment to service here shows that." As Chairman, Roger intends to con- tinue the work that's been done to adjust to the post-pandemic economy and work environment. "I'm excited," he says. "We need to continue to make the WAC not just the place where members go when they come downtown but a destination that brings them downtown. With the world change that we've gone through, we need to continue to pivot to be that place." Back at e Shop, Roger lowers the Mustang to the floor and pushes it off the li. "It's been a fun project," he says. "With these things, the project is oen more fun than the driving." —Reach WAC Director of Communica- tions Darrick Meneken at dmeneken@ wac.net. W A LT E R Z A M O J S K I ; E M I L I O H U E R TA S ( L E F T ) Roger and Asta at the 2023 Father Daughter Banquet.