Paralympic athlete invested as honorary colonel of 15 Wing Moose Jaw

News Article / May 3, 2019

“Turn your obstacles into opportunities and keep a positive attitude.”

By Lieutenant Camille Dolphin

Members of 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, welcomed their new Honorary Colonel, Paralympic medallist Lisa Franks, during a ceremony on April 5, 2019.

But first, they said goodbye to outgoing Honorary Colonel Bert Olson, who had served as the wing’s honorary colonel for the past four years. “Honorary Colonel Bert Olsen has been an outstanding example of leadership,” said wing commander Colonel Denis O’Reilly, “and helped us advocate what we do here at 15 Wing to our community.”

For incoming Honorary Colonel Franks, sports have always been a part of her life. A very rare condition, arteriovenous malformation, caused paralysis from her waist down but did not change her ambition to become a great athlete.

Before competing in wheelchair basketball, she was a Paralympic wheelchair racer. As such, she won four gold medals and one silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and two gold medals at the Athens 2004 Games.

“Lisa Franks’ strength of character and determination to achieve excellence are perfectly paired with the high requirements of military aviation,” Colonel O’Reilly said. “We are very happy to welcome her to the 15 Wing family.”

Honorary Colonel Franks has always had a passion for basketball; one of her earliest sporting memories is spending countless hours as a child throwing baskets on her driveway. She began playing wheelchair basketball competitively in 1999. In 2005, she joined the Canadian women’s national wheelchair basketball team as an alternate and, in 2006, became the first woman from Saskatchewan to be named to the team. That season, she won a gold medal at the world championship with Team Canada. She also represented Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Her personal motto is: “Turn your obstacles into opportunities and keep a positive attitude.”

After a significant shoulder injury, she retired from the national team in the 2010 season. She focused her attention on coaching in Saskatchewan and helped coach the Saskatchewan women to their first ever Canadian Championships medal in 2015.

Honorary Colonel Franks lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where she works as a mechanical engineer and maintains her active lifestyle, playing basketball, biking, skiing, and taking on any other adventure that comes her way, including being Honorary Colonel at 15 Wing Moose Jaw.

“The honorary colonel program is a vital link between the Canadian Armed Forces and our local communities,” said Colonel O’Reilly, “and bringing talented, accomplished Canadians into the military as honorary colonels allows us to gain another perspective.”

Honorary Colonel Franks’ biographical information in this story first appeared at Wheelchair Basketball Canada.