In July of 2006, at the age of 70, Ed Dyer was commissioned to design the 2006 White House Christmas Invitation. Ed’s original painting of a holiday scene at the White House graced the cover of the card and is now preserved as part of our nation’s history in the National Archives.

Ed’s White House commission is especially impressive considering he only started painting seriously six years earlier.

As a child and through school, Ed loved the arts and enjoyed painting as a hobby. His creativity led him to own an advertising agency and even play professional baseball before a leg injury steered him to be an engineer at Michoud for Boeing. After officially retiring in 1999, Ed decided that now, it was his chance to return to what he considered his true calling—painting.

According to Ed, his first painting was so bad he refuses to let anyone see it (yes, we asked…) – but he didn’t let that stop him. Supported by the confidence he built throughout his life from the different hats he wore in each experience, Ed objectively identified his mistakes and started on his second painting. He entered that painting in a competition judged by the editor of American Artist magazine. It won 1st prize. Since then he has sold numerous paintings and won multiple national art awards.

Isn’t it nice to know that life experience allows us the opportunity to grow, to learn from our mistakes and to improve? Life experience is the foundation for success.

Ed Dyer’s days are filled with doing what he loves. He wakes up each morning eager to continue the painting he stopped working on the night before. Ed ends each day with a smile on his face, looking forward to the next. Living life to the fullest.

That’s what makes Ed Dyer a Peoples Health Champion.