CRESCENT, Iowa (KMTV) — A retired staff sergeant who teaches snowboarding at Crescent Hill has turned her passion for the outdoors into a way to continue serving others, even after sustaining injuries that led to her medical retirement from the military.
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Toni Henderson loves teaching snowboarding.
"I get my rewards all the time out here because I get to see the same people that I've taught over and over again," Henderson said.
She recently sustained a minor injury during a trip with the Wounded Warrior Project, so she wore her military uniform, instead of snow gear, when we met.
"I am definitely a person that loves to teach," Henderson said.
That passion developed about 20 years ago when the mother of three started teaching military kids to snowboard in South Korea.
"You gonna barricade yourself in all winter? Get out and enjoy it. Dress for the cold," Henderson said.
Her colleague Ed Schaefer says a good teacher needs good communications skills and has to work well with all generations.
"She's a trooper, she's always laughing and having fun. Everybody enjoys her, as well as being out on the slopes," he said.
Henderson took medical retirement after an accident damaged her left hand, but with help from the VA, she adapted her snowboard and continues to serve others through teaching.
"Yeah, I'm a giver. I just keep giving until I can't give no more. I keep training until I can't physically train no more. You know, my disability ,I found a way to adapt and overcome. You know, that's a big thing in the military. Adapt and overcome," she said.
Henderson says she's nearly recovered from her recent injury and should be teaching for Pottawattamie County Conservation again soon.
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