29TH ANNUAL WALK
AND RUN SHATTERS ALL
RECORDS FOR
SCLERODERMA FOUNDATION MICHIGAN CHAPTER |
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On Sunday, June 8, 2008 an estimated 1700+ supporters gathered at the World-Class Detroit Zoo to celebrate our Chapter’s 29th Annual Walkand Run, and a fun-filled and very successful event was enjoyed by all who attended!
Together, we raised an estimated $180,000+ to support our mission of support, education and research – and more is trickling in each day!
Highlights of the day are many and included:
Celebrity Guest: Barry Sanders!
Barry Sanders, former Detroit Lion star running back and Football Hall of Famer, was with us once again and conducted a ‘Meet and Greet with Photo’ promotion. Barry spoke throughout the day about his passion for our cause and showed great appreciation and gratitude to everyone who supported the event. Barry lost his beloved sister, Nancy, to scleroderma in 1991. A big thank you to Barry for again making time to be with us!
Mistress of Ceremonies: Paula Tutman!
Paula Tutman, emmy award winning features reporter for WDIV Channel 4, was our mistress of ceremonies. Paula was nothing short of outstanding! She worked closed with executive at the station to provide two live shots from our walk that aired at approximately 6:30 am and again at 8:15 am. Paula interviewed patients and supporters throughout her time with us and worked hard to produce a truly phenomenal health segment on scleroderma and our walk that aired on Tuesday, June 10. You can view this coverage by clicking here.
A big thank you to Paula for making time to be with us!
2-Mile Walk Through the Zoo!
Attendees loved our new venue, which enabled them to walk in the Zoo’s beautiful park-like setting among the animals. A big thank you to all of the volunteers who helped manage our walk!
5K Run!
An estimated 100+ runners enjoyed an early morning run in the scenic streets of Huntington Woods. Congratulations to top male finisher Dan Snyder and top female finisher Sydney Leach – both of these fabulous athletes won a $100 cash prize! ATTENTION RUNNERS: Click here for race results. A big thank you to Chairman of our Run, Mr. Bob Bochenek, and all of the volunteers who helped with our run!
1-Mile Fun Run for Kids!
An estimated 100+ kids enjoyed our 1-mile fun run in the scenic streets of Huntington Woods, and each child runner received a medal. We send a special thank you to the “Cheetahs” running group, a group of 40+ children runners who joined us with their families and to all of our child runners and their families!
Silent Auction!
A classic walk favorite, our silent auction was a big attraction for everyone looking for great buys on an array of valuable and fun items including spa and beauty services, sports memorabilia, dining experiences, stylish purses, paintings, floral arrangements, jewelry and much more. A big thank you to the Chairwoman of our Silent Auction, Kathy Cupp and all of the volunteers in our silent auction!
Live Auction!
Dick Brodie, a professional auctioneer who donated his time, was our auctioneer garnering high bids for us for items including “The Ultimate Barry Sanders Fan Package,” “Fabulous Trip to Scottsdale/Sedona, Arizona,” “Ultimate Spa Lovers Package,” “Nascar Fan Package,” “Gourmet Dinner at Detroit Yacht Club and Wine Lovers Package” and more! A big thank you to Dick for your help as our auctioneer!
Kidzone!
Kids had tons of fun enjoying some play time with our clown, magic show, face-painting, games and an auction just for the kids. A big thank you to the many volunteers who organized and helped manage our kidzone and to our clown, Gaye Neff!
Scleroderma Store!
Our on-site store had traffic all day as people lined up to cash in their “Scleroderma Bucks,” which were received by pledge-raisers who raised pledges at levels of $1,000 and over and by attendees who were eager to take home some great Foundation-themed items including beach towels, umbrellas, t-shirts, golf balls, tote bags and more – all great for building much-needed public awareness. A big thank you to the Chairwoman of our Store, Sharon Noechel and to all of the volunteers who helped manage our Store!
Live Music!
Wow – what a highlight it was to have Chateau Band playing live music AND offering guests the opportunity to sing their hearts out to their favorite songs with karaoke that was offered! This was clearly one of the most enjoyable and fun activities at our walk. A big thank you to Chateau Band for donating their time and talent and to everyone who participated in karaoke! Visit www.chateauband.com to learn more about the band and to book them for your next event.
50/50 Raffle!
Our 50/50 raffle made one guest very happy, Dave Rumph, who won $850! Dave donated some of the proceeds back to the Chapter, which are also matched by his company. Thank you, Dave, and congratulations, and thank you to each and every person who purchased a raffle ticket!
Awards Ceremony!
Our awards ceremony, which typically includes awards for our teams and our top fundraiser, only included the award for our top fundraiser due to the overwhelming, positive response at our walk (we didn’t have enough time to tally all team information – apologies to all of our teams for this!). Diane Ludwinski is our Top Individual Fundraiser, who raised over $6,000! Diane received a $100 cash prize and $100 in gift cards to Outback Steakhouse – congratulations, Diane, and thank you so much for your outstanding support!
We are now pleased to announce the Team Awards, and we send a big THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS to the following teams:
Team with Most Funds Raised:
Running for Rob Stone
Team Captain: Paula Stone
Amount Raised: $5,715
Best Team Spirit:
JAZ’S TEAM
Team Captains: Jazmin and Giuseppe Cusumano
Largest Friends and Family Team:
JAZ’S TEAM
Team Captains: Jazmin and Giuseppe Cusumano
Number of Team Members: 85
Largest Corporate Team:
Franklin Bank
Team Captain: Sheila Moore
Number of Team Members: 15
Largest Running Team:*
Cheetahs
Team Captain: Bob Schwartz
Number of Team Members: 117
*This is a new category added to recognize the outstanding effort of this group who joins us each year with child runners and their families – a big thank you to the Cheetahs for their continued and generous support!
Team captains of these teams will be receiving a very exciting prize package!
Pledge-Raising Club Members!
We extend a BIG THANK YOU to the following people who are members of our Pledge-Raising Clubs this year for the extraordinary support they provided raising pledges at leadership levels:
$1,000 Walk Club:
These members raised between $1,000-$4,999 and received a special rewards package that included $25 in Scleroderma Bucks to spend in our "Scleroderma Store" for each $1,000 they raised and a $25 gift certificate to a cool area restaurant!
Individuals:
Ruby Austin
Sue Barczak
Shirley Brown
Carrie and Rob Engle
Linda Kaminski
Sharon Noechel
Annie Valle
Ann Walsh
Marlene Weintraub
Hollie Wong
Teams:
Barbara's Buddies
Team Captain: Barbara Donohoe
Team Carol
Team Captain: Carol Sienkowski
Fighting for a Cure in Wanda's Memory
Team Captain: Kandace Ojeda
Grace's Girls
Team Captain: Gerry Eggleton
Ilene's 49'ers
Team Captain: Ilene Ringle
JAZ'S TEAM
Team Captains: Jasmine and Giuseppe Cusumano
Julie's Troopers
Team Captain: Joyce Bowman
Learning Experience Team
Team Captain: Mollie Blixt
Meckl/Nutting Team
Team Captain: Analisa Collins
NPG Foundation Team
Team Captains: Mary Barnes / Anissa Hillman
Proefrock/Kenny Team
Team Captain: Jeanne Proefrock
Team Pulverizer
Team Captain: Dennis Pulver
Team Zajac
Team Captain: Lee Zajac
$5,000 Walk Club:
These members raised between $5,000-$9,999 and received a special rewards package that included $25 in Scleroderma Bucks to spend in our "Scleroderma Store" for each $1,000 they raised and a $50 gift certificate to a cool area restaurant!
Individuals:
Diane Ludwinski
Teams:
Running for Rob Stone
Team Captain: Paula Stone
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS AND CHERISHED SPONSORS!
Our Chapter is so grateful to our walk sponsors for their generous support! Please show our sponsors your support by giving these generous companies your business when you have a need for their products and services.
THANK YOU TO ALAN LEDFORD, OUR PROFESSIONAL VIDEOGRAPHER!
For Alan, this cause is especially close to his heart as his grandmother lost her battle with scleroderma. Thank you to Alan, who took video footage of our walk for inclusion in a new awareness video we are producing.
THANK YOU TO MATT MITCHELL, OUR PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER!
Matt is a very close supporter to our cause, and we thank him so much for his help taking photos of our special day. Click here for photos!
THANK YOU TO OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS!
Our Board Members provide leadership for our Chapter and our Walk so we send a special thank you to these dedicated supporters who serve on our Board:
President:
Annie Valle
Vice President:
Sharon Noechel
Treasurer:
Richard Green, CPA
Secretary:
Mark Saidman, DDS
Directors:
Barbara Donohoe
Linda Hendrickson
Lee Maniago
Dennis Pulver
Teckla Rhoads
Ilene Ringle
Lisa Simpson
Kim Stine
Patricia Thomas, PhD, RN
Elena Tishkowski, MD
Kerrie Trompics
THANK YOU TO OUR WALK COMMITTEE!
Our Walk Committee members work so very hard throughout the year to plan and execute our walk – thank you to each of our committee members:
Walk Chairwoman:
Liz Martinez
Committee Members:
Cherie Badanjek
Bob Bochenek
Analisa Collins
Kathy Cupp
Lauren Elizabeth
Robert Engle
Marlene Haddad
Linda Hendrickson
Sharon Noechel
Carl Noechel
Dennis Pulver
Gary Schwartz
Lisa Simpson
Annie Valle
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED, WALKED, RAN, VOLUNTEERED, MADE A DONATION, PLEDGED SOMEONE, PURCHASED AN AUCTION ITEM, BOUGHT RAFFLE TICKETS AND HELPED US SHATTER ALL PAST RECORDS FOR OUR ANNUAL WALK! BY HAVING 1800+ PEOPLE ATTEND, WE HAVE GONE BEYOND LAST YEAR’S RECORD OF 1250 ATTENDEES AND BY RAISING AN ESTIMATED $180,000+, WE HAVE GONE WELL BEYOND LAST YEAR’S TOTAL OF $154,000. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
HOW DOES THE FUNDING WE RAISE HELP?
Funding received from our walk gives our Chapter the opportunity to extend resources toward services that improve the quality of life of those we serve. These services include our patient education days, support groups for patients and caregivers, toll-free telephone helpline, educational newsletters, one-on-one counseling, physician referrals, literature and video library, our Hope, Health and Healing Conference and, importantly, a daily resource available for people affected by scleroderma to turn to as they face the many challenges associated with living with scleroderma.
IF YOU ATTENDED OUR WALK, PLEASE SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK!
Click here to print/fill out/send back our walk questionnaire. Thank you very much in advance for sending this to us, which will help us with plans that are already in the works for make next year’s walk even more enjoyable for all of our attendees and supporters.
JOIN US NEXT YEAR FOR OUR SPECIAL 30TH ANNUAL WALK AND RUN ON SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2009 AT THE DETROIT ZOO!
Make plans now to join us for our very special 30th Annual Walk and Run on Sunday, June 7, 2009 at the World-Class Detroit Zoo. Be sure to be with us – and bring all of your friends, family and everyone you know – to help celebrate 30 years of service to people in Michigan who are affected by scleroderma.
Exciting plans are already in the works to make the celebration of our 30th year a very, very special and memorable year, which includes some exciting plans for our walk!
We will be in touch with everyone leading up to the walk with details on how you can be involved in our exciting plans and help us keep making a positive, meaningful difference in the lives of people affected by scleroderma. Visit this website often to learn of walk details and to access resources available to our walk supporters!
THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE IN OUR CHAPTER FAMILY FOR THEIR SUPPORT!
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