There’s a good chance that you don’t know Larry Hansen. But we at OnMilwaukee do.
Alongside his wife, Linda, Larry was an instrumental figure in the early days of our business. Through his company, Nitro Digital Studios, Larry produced our first radio and TV commercials, back in 1999. He supported our vision, even when most people didn’t understand it. He opened doors for us, and pushed us to think big. And he never charged us a cent.
On Dec. 8, friends of Larry – and there are lots of them in Milwaukee – were devastated to hear that he was injured in a horrendous and freak accident by a presumed drunk driver. While working on his car in his Okauchee garage, the driver flew off Highway 16 and pinned him. Five surgeries and 42 pints of blood later, Larry has lost one leg, has a broken back and faces more surgeries to come.
And yet he keeps smiling.
This Friday, Larry’s friends are organizing a fundraiser to help pay for some of his upcoming expenses. A friend already started building a wheelchair ramp at his house, and this fundraiser will help even more.
You’ll notice that I don’t have any quotes from Larry or Linda in this short piece. So many of us have respected their privacy and left them alone during this incredibly difficult time, but I did learn a few things from a CBS58 report on his progress. Linda told the station she and Larry have heard the outpouring of support and donations. His life will forever be changed, but Larry will get through this.
Even before the accident, I would tell anyone who asked that Larry is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. And even though he would never ask for it, he could use our help.
The fundraiser is this Friday, Jan. 13 at the American Legion Post #399, N50 W34750 Wisconsin Ave. in Okauchee. It begins at 6 p.m. If you can’t make it, please consider a donation through the Legion Post directly.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
