Findlay, Ohio – Johnnie Tuitel, professional motivational speaker, will present “Don’t Make Me Get Out of This Chair” at 7 p.m. March 28 at The University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum. 

Even though Tuitel is required to use a wheelchair for mobility, he has never let his cerebral palsy slow him down. As a speaker, author, business owner and father, Tuitel has spent his life helping people with disabilities become more mobile and educating audiences about disability and acceptance. 

Tuitel has addressed the value of acceptance to hundreds of audiences including sports teams, schools, universities and businesses. “Life is a gift on a daily basis,” he explains. “Take the focus off yourself and put it on what truly matters. That understanding will change your life forever.”

Tuitel is also the co-author and inspiration of The Gun Lake Adventure Series. The five-book series is based on Johnnie Jacobson, a preteen protagonist who leads his friends on mystery-solving adventures from his wheelchair. 

In 1995, Tuitel and business partner George Ranville started the non-profit organization Alternatives in Motion to help provide wheelchairs for those in need. Donating more than 300 wheelchairs and raising more than $1.4 million in donations to date, the organization is the only one of its kind to give 100 percent of its earnings to purchasing wheelchairs.

In recognition of his hard work, Tuitel has received the WOOD TV 8 Unsung Hero Award from President Gerald R. Ford, the National Easter Seals Society’s prestigious Equality, Dignity, Independence Award, and the United Way of Michigan’s Speaker of the Year Award. He was also recently re-appointed to Michigan’s Commission on Disability Concerns.

In addition to his presentation at UF, Tuitel will be speaking to children at Washington Intermediate and Liberty Benton schools on Wednesday, March 29.

For more information about the free, adult, public presentation, contact the University’s Offices of Student Activities and Commuter Student Services at 419-434-4606 or the Office of Disability Services at 419-434-5532.