Office of the Mayor

2008 Senior Awards - About Vivian Stancil

Vivian Stancil

Vivian Stancil lost her sight at age 19, with two young children and a full-time job, she went back to school at night to get her degree. When her doctor discovered a heart murmur and her weight was a problem, she had to exercise. She overcame her terror of water, jumped in the pool, and became a champion swimmer.

Today her heart is sound and her weight healthy, and she’s a gold-medalist in our local Senior Olympics and a fierce competitor in the National Senior Olympics program. Vivian Stancil was recently inducted into the Riverside Sports Hall of Fame.

When she’s not swimming, Vivian Stancil leads a prayer ministry called Christian Intercessors of the Nations Organization, and she is also a member of the Uptown Riverside Kiwanis Club.

Through these organizations, she has reached out to young women in our community and shown them through her own story that obstacles can be opportunities for growth and that no handicap can stop them from achieving their dreams.