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 ANNE
MARIE McDERMOTT
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
By: Bob Barber
Following Sam Woodard’s presentation of a number of “lawyer” jokes
intended to redeem the club’s lawyers after Phil Van Hoy’s Health
and Happiness last week, Dick Roberts introduced our speaker, Anne
Marie McDermott. Ann Marie is the President of the Mid-Atlantic
Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She came to
Charlotte for the job about ten years ago after positions with
several MS chapters. In her tenure, the budget of the Mid-Atlantic
Chapter has grown from about $1 million per year to about $10
million per year.
In 1946, Sylvia Lowry’s brother, Bernard, was diagnosed with MS. At
that time, there were no known cures for MS. Sylvia put an ad in the
newspaper asking anyone who had been cured of MS to respond with
what treatments had worked for them. No one responded that they had
been cured, but 54 people responded wanting to know what she had
learned. Sylvia hosted several meetings of those interested persons,
resulting in the founding of the National Multiple Sclerosis
Society. The Greater Carolinas Chapter, now the Mid-Atlantic
Chapter, was founded in 1955.
The mission of the Society is to raise funds for national and
international scientific research for cures and treatments for this
debilitating disease and to provide programs to support
approximately 400,000 Americans who are living with the disease. The
Society raises about $250 million annually and is the largest
private contributor to MS research. Progress has been made in the
research efforts. While there is still no known cure, there are now
four drug therapies for relapsing MS and symptomatic treatments for
the fatigue, weakness, and other symptoms of the disease.
The Mid-Atlantic Chapter covers 33 western counties of North
Carolina and the entire state of South Carolina. There are about 800
MS patients in the territory covered by the Chapter. The
Mid-Atlantic Chapter raises about $10 million annually with its
largest fund raising activity being the annual Breakaway to the
Beach 150-mile Bike Tour. The bike tour raises about $1.8 million in
one weekend. The Chapter is a member agency of the United Way of
Central Carolinas and does not do telephone solicitations.
MS is a chronic disease that destroys the coating around the nerves
in the body. The disease affects predominantly Caucasians,
predominantly women more than men, predominantly those between age
15 and 50, and predominantly those in colder climates. There appears
to be a genetic predisposition for MS and it is thought that some
environmental factor may interact with the genetic predisposition to
trigger the disease. Stressful events are also thought to trigger
outbreaks among those with the disease. It is a very frustrating
disease because outbreaks and symptoms are on and off again and
often inexplicably come and go.
Anne Marie refuted some of the common myths about MS:
- That it is fatal. MS is
not normally a fatal disease, but extreme cases can
result in complications leading to death
- That MS does not affect
kids. This is no longer true. There are now about 10,000
MS patients under the age of 10 in the U.S. today. While
the majority of those diagnosed with MS are between the
ages of 15 and 50, there are those who have been
diagnosed with MS as young as 2 years old and as old as
70 years.
- That people with MS
cannot work. This is just not true. It has been proven
that people with MS want to work and can work. Depending
on an individual’s job and degree of affliction, some
accommodation or change in duties may be needed, but all
but the most severely afflicted can work.
- That MS has a telethon
fund raiser. It is the Muscular Dystrophy Association
that sponsors the Jerry Lewis Telethon.
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Head Table:
Sadler Barnhardt, Chris Thomas,
Tom Robertson, Dick Robberts, Kitty Stutts, Sam Woodard; Invocation:
Floyd Davis
Visitors and Guests:
Phil Volponi; Health & Happiness: Sam
Woodard; Song: Thomas Moore |
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Welcome to Rotary –
Graz Graziano with General
Dynamics, sponsored by John Tabor.
þ
Charlotte Museum of History
President and CEO Pamela Meister
was honored at the Louisiana Association of Museums Annual
Luncheon and 25th Anniversary Celebration in Lafayette, LA,
where she served as executive director of the Louisiana
Association of Museums from 1990 through 1995.
þ
Look for referee
Jeff Triplett at the Tampa
Bay vs Chicago game.
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REMINDER…..Articles of clothing will be collected
during the month of November in support of
Crisis Assistance Ministry.
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Monday is absolutely the
last call for anyone wishing to attend the Rotary Foundation
Banquet on October 28th.
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TREE PLANTING
CEREMONY |
CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
OCTOBER 28, 2004 2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Rotary International President Glenn Estess will honor
Charlotte Rotarian Powell Majors in a tree planting ceremony
on the central campus of Central Piedmont Community College
on Thursday, October 28th. Powell has been a member of the
Rotary Club of Charlotte for sixty-six years, joining the
club in 1938, and participated in a tree planting ceremony
when Paul Harris visited Charlotte in 1939. His list of
accomplishments goes on and on! Anyone wishing to observe
this special moment is invited to be at CPCC around 2:45 on
the 28th. |
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WW II ORAL
HISTORY PRESENTATION |
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On November 9th, just two days
before Veterans’ Day, WW II Oral History Interview DVDs will
be presented to the 25 members of our Rotary club that were
interviewed for our oral history centennial project. All
interviews are completed and production of the television
documentaries How I Survived the War and the Rest of My Life
has begun. The documentaries premier will be held in early
May, 2005. Each person interviewed will receive a DVD
containing their interview, transcript, and photos of
memorabilia. The 120 interviews will be indexed and
archived, and available for research. The Rotary WW II Oral
History Archives will be placed in area colleges and
universities, the Charlotte History Museum, the Main
Library, and CMS. Classroom materials based on the
interviews will be developed and a website is planned. |
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WW II ORAL
HISTORY PRESENTATION |
Using your age as of December 31,
and working with the 317 club members that provided their
date of birth, the average age for a member of the Rotary
Club of Charlotte is 57.6 years old. That breaks down to:
1 between the ages of 20-29
29 between the ages of 30-39
60 between the ages of 40-49
96 between the ages of 50-59
69 between the ages of 60-69
34 between the ages of 70-79
22 between the ages of 80-89
6 between the ages of 90-99 |
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Attendance
Record |
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10/19/04 |
10/21/03 |
| visitors &
guests |
10 |
24 |
| club
members |
177 |
190 |
| total
attendance |
187 |
214 |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
27 Daphne and Tom O’Brien
28 Mary and Charles Woodyard
31 Sara and George Page |
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New Members | Resignations |
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Graz Graziano |
Billy
King
Rufus Robinson
John Granzow
Mary John Dye
Mary Mack
Steve Menaker
Steve Carter
John Shell |
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| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
27 Bob Knight, Tarboro, NC
27 Tyson Bennett, Heflin, AL
28 Pam Syfert,
Council Bluffs, IA
29 Jim Combs, Fairfax, VA
29 EK Fretwell, New York, NY
29 Andy Zoutewelle,
Charlotte, NC
31 Paul Solitario, Congo
01 Michael Elder,
Kansas City, MO
01 John Hart, Brewton, AL |
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