Randy Pierce will be visiting SNHU’s Walker Auditorium on March 19 at 7 p.m. to speak on behalf of his nonprofit organization, 2020 Vision Quest.
Randy Pierce is blind. He started losing his eye sight in 1989 before going completely blind in 2000. He and his wife, Tracy, started the 2020 Vision Quest in 2009. The 2020 Vision Quest is the Pierces’ goal of climbing all 48 summits of New Hampshire over 4,000 feet tall by the year 2020. They later converted the 2020 Vision Quest to a non-profit organization. Randy is also a motivational speaker for the blind.
Throughout his life, Pierce loved the outdoors and gained a liking for mountain hiking. When he went blind, he adopted his service dog, Quinn, to help him trek through the New Hampshire summits. His first climb was in 2009 when he reached the summit of Mount Monroe.
On August 24, 2013, Pierce and Quinn reached their final summit, Mount Flume, achieving 2020 Vision Challenge’s goal of climbing all 48 summits in New Hampshire. Pierce and Quinn were the first blind man and service dog to make this achievement.
Today, 2020 Vision Quest’s mission is to raise money to provide needed services to the blind, as well as to fund the cost of service dogs, educate people about “Ability Awareness,” and inspire others to reach their full potential, regardless of disabilities they may have.
In 2018, Pierce published his own book, “See You At The Summit.” Pierce visits schools and events around New Hampshire to inspire and motivate individuals that anything is possible. By the end of this year, Pierce and his team at 2020 Vision Quest plan to participate in the Boston Marathon again, launch their audio book for “See You At The Summit,” try new athletics such as swimming and reach the summit of Mount Chirripo in Costa Rica that stands at 12,536 feet tall.
The event is free and open to the public. To learn more information about the 2020 Vision Quest, visit its website at http://2020visionquest.org/.
