Randy Meyer believes in focusing on solutions not problems -- a positive attitude that has served him well since he was blinded at age 2 by retinal cancer.

The mayor of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., Meyer was elected to the position in 2004, after serving as City Council alderman for five years. His service to the community also includes work with the Jaycees, the Kiwanis Club and Chamber/Main Street.

In 2005, the U.S. Jaycees named Meyer one of the year’s Ten Outstanding Young Americans, an award judged on qualities such as personal improvement or accomplishment, financial success or economic innovation. The owner of RM Financial Resources, a financial planning business, Meyer started his career with Woodmen Financial Resources.

Prior to those successes, however, Meyer faced great challenges. The loss of sight meant he had to attend an elementary school for the blind in Green Bay, an hour from his home. During those years, he lived with a host family, staying with his own family only on weekends, vacations and summer breaks.

With a goal of living at home and attending his hometown school, Meyer entered the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped in Janesville. There he mastered mobility skills, enabling him to realize his dream of attending Sheboygan Falls High School.

As a wrestler at Sheboygan Falls, Meyer qualified for the state championship three times, placing fifth in the state competition his senior year. Along with a 31-2 record as a senior, he set a school pin record with 23 falls.

His success on the mat continued at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he became an NCAA Division III All-American. He also earned academic All-American honors before graduating in 1991.

To understand how Meyer views his blindness as a minor challenge rather than a handicap, consider his slogan during his mayoral campaign: “It doesn’t take sight to run a community,” he said. “It takes vision.”