{{short description|American journalist}} {{Infobox writer | embed = | honorific_prefix = | name = | honorific_suffix = | image = Chad_&_Trixie.jpg | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = Chad & Trixie | caption = Chad & Trixie | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pseudonym = | birth_name = Chad Alan Waligura | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|3|19}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = Outdoor writer, magazine editor, professional disabled hunter | language = | nationality = <!-- use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT --> | citizenship = <!-- use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT --> | education = | alma_mater = Texas A&M University, University of Houston, Victoria | period = | genre = <!-- or: | genres = --> | subject = <!-- or: | subjects = --> | movement = | notable_works = | spouse = <!-- or: | spouses = --> | partner = <!-- or: | partners = --> | children = | relatives = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | years_active = | module = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.org}} --> | portaldisp = <!-- "on", "yes", "true", etc.; or omit --> }} <!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|right|Chad Waligura while on a disabled group hunt in Texas. --> '''Chad Alan Waligura''' (born March 19, 1969) is an American outdoor writer, magazine editor, and professional disabled hunter. It was for his work as a disabled hunter that he was named Buckmasters' 2003 Challenged Hunter of the Year <ref>Sullivan, David. "Realizing Their Dreams." Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine Oct. 2004: 72+.</ref> and was chosen by Safari Club International for the Pathfinder Award<ref name="Matocha"/> in 2010.
==Life and career== Born the son of Judy Dore' Waligura of Crowley, Louisiana, and Randy Waligura of Garwood, Texas, Waligura grew up in the town of El Campo, Texas. At an early age, he was introduced to hunting and fishing by his father and grandfather, Ben Waligura.
On July 7, 1986, at age 17, Waligura suffered a paralyzing injury after diving into a swimming pool, fracturing his cervical vertebrae at the C-7 level. He spent the next three months at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston, Texas. After being discharged, Waligura returned to TIRR Memorial Hermann periodically to visit with patients to talk about outdoor life and to give presentations on adaptive equipment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unitedspinal.org/publications/action/2005/11/02/great-outdoorsman/|author=Wood, Lori A.|title=Great Outdoorsman – United Spinal's Action Online Magazine.|publisher=United Spinal Association|date=2 November 2005|accessdate=2 March 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718011858/http://www.unitedspinal.org/publications/action/2005/11/02/great-outdoorsman/|archivedate=18 July 2011}}</ref>
Waligura graduated from El Campo High School in 1988. In 1993, he graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor's degree in Wildlife & Fisheries Science. From there, Waligura went on to earn a Master of Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Houston, Victoria, in 2002.
In 1996, Waligura founded a website called Follow Me Outdoors,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.followmeoutdoors.com |title=Disabled, Hunting, Wheelchair, Outdoors, Recreation, Resources |publisher=Follow Me Outdoors |date= |accessdate=2012-09-21}}</ref> as an information source about disabled hunting and fishing. It was around this time that he began freelancing for mainstream hunting magazines. Waligura has been published in ''Buckmasters' Rack'' magazine,<ref>Waligura, Chad. "300-Yard 'MISS' Rolls Pronghorn." Rack Nov. 2001: 48-50. Print.</ref> ''King's Hunting Illustrated'', ''Eastman's Hunting Journal'',<ref>Waligura, Chad. "On the Trail of Boone & Crockett." Eastmans' Hunting Journal Oct-Nov 2006: 34-36. Print.</ref> ''Horizontal Bowhunter Magazine'',<ref>Waligura, Chad. "The Point of Impact." Horizontal Bowhunter Winter 2011: 24-25. Print.</ref> ''UFFDA'' magazine, ''Turkey & Turkey Hunting'', and the ''African Hunting Gazette''.<ref>Waligura, Chad. "Wheelz Across Africa." African Hunting Gazette Spring 2011: 74-77. Print.</ref> He was the cover story of ''Sports-N-Spokes''<ref>Waligura, Chad. "Follow Me!" Sports 'N Spokes Mar. 2010: 42-45. Print.</ref> magazine published by the Paralyzed Veterans of America on the March, 2010 issue.
Waligura became a founding member of the TIRR Peers Organization in 1997. TIRR Peers was formed in order to connect older, surviving TIRR veterans with new patients based on common injuries and/or interests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.memorialhermann.org/uploadedFiles/Locations/TIRR/For_Health_Professionals/Summer%202009.pdf|title="Transforming Lives Interrupted by Disability: TIRR Celebrates 50 Years of Breakthroughs." TIRR Memorial Hermann Journal Fall (2009)|accessdate=21 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522104801/http://memorialhermann.org/uploadedFiles/Locations/TIRR/For_Health_Professionals/Summer%202009.pdf|archive-date=22 May 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
In the year 2000, Waligura began organizing group duck and deer hunts for disabled outdoorsmen and women in the state of Texas<ref name="Matocha">{{cite web|url=http://www.leader-news.com/articles/2011/02/18/lifestyle/doc4d5afdda6b989364212978.txt|author=Matocha, Quala|title="Paving the Way for Others." El Campo Leader-News 16 February 2011, Wednesday ed., Lifestyle sec. El Campo Leader-News|date=18 February 2011|accessdate=2 March 2011}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
To date, Waligura has hunted in Mexico, Canada, Argentina and South Africa, as well as in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
In 2010, Waligura launched and became editor of an online magazine called Disabled Hunter Magazine<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dhuntmag.com |title=Disabled Hunter Magazine |publisher=Dhuntmag.com |date= |accessdate=2012-09-21}}</ref> for physically challenged outdoorsmen which was changed to Able Outdoors before publishing began in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Able Outdoors by Able Outdoors - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/ableoutdoors/docs/2015-1-ableoutdoors_proof |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=issuu.com |date=21 October 2015 |language=en}}</ref>
In 2021, Chad teamed up with Ashlee Lundvall from Cody, Wyoming, in order to start filming videos for Able Outdoors and promote "able" sportsmen and women in the outdoors<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Able Outdoors |url=https://ableoutdoors.net/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waligura, Chad}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American hunters Category:American magazine editors Category:Texas A&M University alumni Category:People from El Campo, Texas Category:Journalists from Texas Category:University of Houston–Victoria alumni