Hanscom AFB, MA (April 10, 2018) – Hanscom Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce that Andy Martin, Jr., will be returning to the Boston Marathon for the fourth time as a wheelchair entrant for Team Hanscom FCU. Andy joined the team as a 4-year-old patient partner with Boston Children’s Hospital. This year, the 22-year-old continues to fulfill his longtime dream of competing as an athlete.

Back in 2000, Andy – who was being treated for spina bifida – was paired as a Patient Partner with Ray Phillips, a Hanscom FCU board member. As he watched the wheelchair racers fly by him from the sidelines, Andy decided that he wanted to race, too. He was disappointed to learn he’d have to be 18, but he cheerfully announced the delay would give him more time to train.

Flash forward 14 years later when this Goffstown, NH, resident fulfilled that childhood goal when he entered the wheelchair division of the 2014 Boston Marathon.

Andy and Ray continue to race for Team Hanscom FCU. Their team is part of the Credit Unions Kids at Heart program, raising money for pediatric brain disease research at Boston Children’s Hospital. All money raised through this effort is donated to BCH, with nothing deducted for administrative expenses.

“Andy’s drive and commitment inspires us all,” said Paul Marotta, Hanscom FCU’s Chairman of the Board. “We’ve watched him grow from a little boy to a young athlete who competes with the best of the best in an incredibly difficult 26.2-mile race. Everyone in the Hanscom FCU family is rooting for him.”

Andy recently said, “I’ve never thought, ‘I’m in a chair, I can’t do this stuff.’ Because the way I live life is: If there’s a will to do something, there’s a way to do it.”

Hanscom Federal Credit Union, headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, serves over 81,000 members across the country and overseas through 20 branches, over 100,000 service centers and surcharge-free ATMs, 24-hour telephone service and a web-based branch. The credit union holds over $1.2 billion in assets.