February 2008

Monte Greenawalt remembered as innovator, humanitarian

Monte Greenawalt, DC, one of the most highly respected chiropractic figures in modern times, died Dec. 26, in Las Vegas, where he had lived for more than 20 years. He was 84.

Although he founded Foot Levelers in 1952 and built it into a successful business and valuable asset for chiropractors everywhere, he was best known for his charitable contributions and humanitarian efforts.

In 2001, the World Chiropractic Alliance awarded him its "Humanitarian of the Year" award. "For decades, he has consistently put his money where his heart is," stated WCA President Terry A. Rondberg, DC, noting that no single individual in the chiropractic profession was as closely associated with charitable giving.

Whether he was contributing to chiropractic research, helping build college facilities, or financing student scholarships, Dr. Greenawalt showed himself to be as generous with his time as he has with his money. As an undisputed leader, he showed by his example how to be a citizen of the profession and of the world.

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, his contributions reached an entirely new level of importance. Within days of the tragedy, Greenawalt, and his Foot Levelers company, were spearheading a profession‑wide campaign to raise funds for the Red Cross relief efforts. Thanks to a $200,000 matching grant, the campaign raised nearly half a million dollars.

Like so many other chiropractic leaders, Greenawalt was introduced to the profession as a patient following a tragic incident in WWII. After joining the Navy, he was given contaminated serum that left him paralyzed. After being restored to health by a chiropractor, he decided to make that his vocation.

After opening his private practice in 1948, he became interested in the way foot imbalance not only seemed to be a cause of subluxations, but made it more difficult for patients' adjustments to hold. Several years of research led him to found Foot Levelers, a custom orthotics manufacturing company. He ran the firm until 1979, when he handed the post to his son, Kent.

According to a report in Greenawalt's hometown newspaper, the Dubuque Telegraph Herald, Kent was flooded with e‑mails and calls from those wishing to extend their condolences. "They said he gave so much from his heart without expecting anything in return, or that he bought their school something they had needed, or that they remembered vividly a lecture he had given somewhere," Kent said in the Telegraph Herald article.