June 6, 2008
A father's devotion to his son leads to the Vision 5K
Marco Quintanilla exemplified the ideals of the race
A lot of people are responsible for the Vision 5K, but if you had to single out one person as a driving force in conceiving of the race and making it a success, look no further than Joe Quintanilla, the director of development for the Carroll Center for the Blind.
Joe has been a tireless champion for the Vision 5K since its inception, and he has devoted countless hours organizing the event, promoting the abilities of blind athletes, and training sighted runners and walkers for the Blindfold Challenge. But Joe, who lost his sight when he was a teenager, is simply passing on to the rest of us the lessons he learned with his father.
Marco Quintanilla, who died in May, would guide his son on runs along the river, sometimes still wearing his heavy workboots from his job as an auto mechanic. And although Joe eventually became too fast for his father to keep up, Marco never stopped believing that his son could achieve anything he wanted in life.
More than a thousand people will attend the Vision 5K on Saturday, June 7. Sighted or blind, all of them will be guided by Marco Quintanilla.
