ABOUT
Chip & Patty Piper
The Piper's are married and currently live in Salisbury Vermont in a home they built in 2002.
Chip is an active member of the Board of Directors at Turning Point Center of Addison County, joining recently at the end of 2022.
Both Patty and Chip are passionate about supporting organizations like Turning Point and Jenna's Promise.
This is a tribute to their son Michael who was interested in helping others even during his struggles.
About Chip's mission...
Chip Piper went to Turning Point Center of Addison County in September of 2021 with a very generous donation collected during another marathon he had ran. Chip went on to tell us about his son Michael whom he had lost the summer prior, July 2020, to substance use disorder (SUD).
Michael's story really captured our hearts. Chip told the director and program manager about Michael's battle, struggling with opioids on and off for several years. Michael would visit Turning Point Center of Addison County on occasion to receive support, he said it was a place where he always felt comfortable and welcomed.
There were stretches of time when Michael really flourished in recovery, especially when he and his friend hiked 40 miles of the long trail his last week before leaving this green earth. He had a fantastic time and commented several times that he now really understood what it was like to run these crazy trails. He told his father it was the best high of his life. Chip was excited for them to bond over trail running and having a healthy hobby they could do together.
Unfortunately, just a week later Michael lost his battle with the SUD demon. Chip and Patty's (Michael's Mother) lives were forever changed. This is when Chip decided to dedicate his future marathons to his son and that is when Turning Point asked to support him during his upcoming 88k in May 2022 and he happily accepted.
We could never have imagined how important this connection would be, and how the relationship between Turning Point would become so supportive in the world of recovery. When Chip discovered the incredible work Jenna's Promise is doing, it was only natural to bring them together for an even more powerful message and to support, not only their visions to support the recovery community, but to support each other as well.