Henry McKenzie: Not Your Average 76-Year Old

By Kate Kirby

Henry McKenzie is not your average 76-year-old. He exercises every day and sometimes heads to his neighborhood track to challenge high school students in wind sprints.

Henry is a perfect example of what can happen when determination and athleticism grow over the years to challenge the concept of "getting older." When I called him to come in for an interview, he said it would be at least a week and a half before he could fit me in his schedule. Henry is not your average "senior."

Henry has played ball all his life, since the ball was bigger than he was.

His softball team, the Louisville Seniors, has since taken first place in the Softball Player's Championship National Tournament twice, once in 2002 and once in 2005. Henry's team will make the trek to Lexington in September to compete in the Kentucky Senior Games. The Louisville Seniors aim to win the Kentucky tournament and qualify to compete in the 2007 Summer National Senior Games in Louisville next summer.

Henry and some 12,000 senior athletes like him will visit Louisville next summer - some will use the event as an excuse to take a vacation; many will meet old friends from previous competitions; most of them will compete for the chance to win medals. Henry has more than 95 medals in Senior Games competitions, at the regional, state and national level - 87 of his medals are gold.

When I asked Henry to describe his work at the Ford Motor Co., the company from which he retired, he told me about several jobs he held in his 42-year tenure. The common thread through his jobs was a desire to do the best job he could do. He said he meticulously checked out the assembly line and ended up taking on more responsibility than he could shoulder. We talked about the "curse of competency" and its relationship to being a winner. Henry says he was "taught to do a good job."

Posted at Ford were three inspiration quotes: The first one was, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right." Henry said he read this quote every day and took it to heart. The second quote was, "If you drop it, pick it up." Same sort of concept - if you do something, do it right or make it right. Pick it up. The third quote was "No running in the plant." Henry said he had a hard time with that one.

When I asked Henry about the challenge of missing workouts, he looked at me quizzically. I said, "You know, when you don't feel like working out." He still just looked at me. Finally, he said, "Sometimes you might not feel like lifting weights, but you know that if you miss a workout, then it makes it that much harder when you get back to it."

I asked him to give advice to those who might be just starting out on an exercise program. He said, "Do what you can, start slowly, and build from there." These are words we can all take to heart, whether we are 15 or 82.

If you are interested in more information about the 2007 Summer National Senior Games – The Senior Olympics presented by Humana, visit www.2007seniorgames.com . If you are interested in volunteering or serving on a committee, call 502-893-1940.

Kate Kirby is the PR/Media and Volunteer Director of the Senior Olympics –Summer National Senior Games in Louisville , KY in 2007.