A Message From Our Founder Jim Huffman
More than 15 years ago, I had the opportunity to train and run the intense Wasatch 100 race—a hundred-mile, thirty-hour, ultra marathon through the hills and valleys of Utah’s beautiful Wasatch Mountain range. I have completed that race many times since and have witnessed countless miracles as I stumbled and struggled to finish the grueling challenge.
On those trails of the Wasatch 100, I met fellow ultra runner Rich McDonald. From that connection, a unique friendship and partnership was born. As avid and dedicated marathoners and trail runners, Rich and I discovered later, we had something else in common—recovery from substance abuse. We had each experienced first-hand the ravages of addiction and the restoration of our families through recovery.
Sadly, my wife Kathleen, the mother of our seven children, lost her battle with addiction in 2010, which only cemented my resolve to be of service to families and others who have similarly known the tragedies of this disease.
In 2016, Rich and I were presented with a unique opportunity to work together and spread the message of treatment and the blessings of recovery. As we considered possible names for our venture, the choice became clear. “Wasatch Crest” was selected for many reasons, but most notably because of the bond that was forged between two friends running on the well-known Wasatch Crest trail in Utah. The name itself embodies the heights reached from accomplishing something seemingly unreachable. Additionally, it reminds us that in recovery, or any challenge, we don’t have to do it alone.
Rich and I are still running the Wasatch 100 race together. We have become brothers through our partnership and side-by-side association. We are joint participants and witnesses to many miracles as our clients, friends and fellow “runners” transform their lives at Wasatch Crest.
Sincerely,
Jim Huffman
"To every man there comes in his lifetime, that special moment, when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared, or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour."
