MEDAL OF COURAGE Dennard "Denny" Moore was born in 1956 and grew up in Robbins, Illinois as one of seven siblings. At age two Denny contracted polio, atrophying his right leg from the hip to his toes. As a resident of Robbins, Denny enrolled in Dwight David Eisenhower High School where, through the encouragement of his eldest brother Jerry, he tried out for the freshman wrestling squad "” it wasn't pretty. Denny struggled to a 3-15 record, but his tenacity drove him to continue the struggle into his sophomore year. It was in this year that Denny tasted the fruits of his labor as he won his first ever wrestling tournament; he would cap his sophomore year with a third place finish in the Sophomore Conference Tournament. His junior year he made the Varsity squad; his senior year saw Denny winning championships in both the Conference and the IHSA District tournaments. Denny went on to place 4th in the IHSA Sectional tournament, just missing an opportunity to participate in the State Finals. During his exemplary senior year Denny was selected as both the squad's Captain and MVP. Hooked on the sport and all that it offers, Denny successfully pursued wrestling during his summer months away from high school. In the summer of 1974 Denny won the State Greco Championships and placed 2nd in Freestyle. As a result of his performance in both state tournaments Denny qualified for Team Illinois and the Junior National Tournament. Denny's collegiate experience was split between a stint at Triton Junior College where he wrestled successfully for legendary coach Art Kraft; and two-years as an accomplished grappler at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois. At Triton Denny was a Regional Champion and a National Qualifier. While at MacMurray Denny was equally successful, winning tournaments at MacMurray, Cornell and Coe. Additionally, Denny was a two-time NCAA qualifier, placing in the top eight both times. As a young man Denny had been confronted with both an emotional as well as a physical challenge; wrestling and those associated with the sport helped Denny to work through his difficulties and achieve "” coaching others through their challenges seemed the next logical step for Denny to take. He spent a couple of years as a high school assistant and one year as a head coach. Perhaps, however, his biggest challenge came when he assumed the head job at Concordia College in River Forest, Illinois. He inherited a "team" with only two participants and in his seven year tenure brought Concordia to nationally ranked status in Division III. During this time five Concordia wrestlers earned NCAA All-American status. In 1991 Denny left Concordia to contend with yet another task. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro decided to start a wrestling program and Denny welcomed the opportunity to build one from scratch; and build it he did. In his ten years at UNC-Greensboro, Denny's teams won two Conference Championships and qualified twenty individuals for the NCAA Tournament. Twice Denny was named the conference's Coach of the Year. In 2001 Denny left the UNC-Greensboro to accept another daunting assignment. In a testament to his courage Denny, for the past four years has served as a Special Education Instructor at Ferndale Middle School. He also holds the title of Director of the At-Risk, BD/Mt/MR Program.