Transplant Specialist with University of Michigan Medical Transplant Team

Photo: Michigan Runner TV Interviews Richard Chenault, MITS Finals, March, 2004

Richard Chenault II, Coach of the Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard High School girls track and cross country teams for 18 years and Girls Director of the Michigan Indoor Track Series (MITS), was aboard the Survival Flight air ambulance that crashed into Lake Michigan Monday afternoon.

The University of Michigan Health System announced "Six members of the U-M Survival Flight team were aboard: two members of the staff of Marlin Air, which flies all Survival Flight airplane missions, and four U-M employees. The aircraft was owned by Toy Air and based at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, and was en route back to U-M after procuring organs for transplant into a patient at U-M. Aboard the aircraft were:

* David Ashburn, M.D., a fellow (physician-in-training) in cardiothoracic surgery

* Richard Chenault II, a transplant donation specialist with the U-M Transplant Program

* Dennis Hoyes, a Marlin air pilot

* Richard Lapensee, a transplant donation specialist with the U-M Transplant Program

* Bill Serra, a Marlin air pilot

* Martinus (Martin) Spoor, M.D., a cardiac surgeon who had been on the U-M faculty since 2003."

Bob Parks, retired Eastern Michigan Track & Field and Cross Country coach writes: "Richard ran track at EMU over 20 years ago, briefly, and had been the womens' track coach at Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard HS for many years. He had very good teams there and was well respected by the track coaching community and by people at GRHS. I knew him well. Tony Mifsud called me last night to break the sad news to me. He said that he and Rich had talked about a week ago, and that they had discussed both of their Catholic school teams winning state regional titles. Tony coaches at Dearborn Divine Child HS. Richard's death is a real tragedy and Rich has to be recognized as a real hero, both in his passing and in his career as a transplant specialist."

Chenault twice won the medal of honor from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department for his work with the University of Michigan Transplant Center.

Coach Chenault also was to be honored Monday evening, June 4, 2007, as Coach of the Year by the Catholic High School League.

Michigan Runner TV's interview with Coach Chenault is online: http://michiganrunner.tv/2004mits/mits04fieldqt.html.