Mission Awards recognize outstanding volunteers
Every year the Alzheimer’s Association East Central Iowa Chapter recognizes individuals, businesses and groups who have worked wholeheartedly throughout the year to MOVE the mission of the Alzheimer’s Association forward. Awards were given on April 12, 2011 at Elmcrest Country Club in eigh selected categories: Fund Development; Advocacy; New Volunteer of the Year; Program Service; Service Club or Organization; Public Awareness; Walk SuperSTAR; and Volunteer of the Year.
Fund Development Mission Award: Lois Peterson, Coralville
Since 2005 this award recipient has been one of the Alzheimer's Association's most generous and quiet philanthropists. Her motivation is due to her personal experience with Alzheimer's. This disease robbed her of her spouse and life partner, Dr. Richard Peterson in October 2007. Dr. Peterson was the professor of Medicine and Radiology at the University of Iowa and Chief of Nuclear Medicine at the Iowa City Veterans Administration Hospital. After retiring in 1991, Alzheimer's crept in.
Lois Peterson has been aware of and interested in advancing Alzheimer's disease research so our next generations do not have to endure such a diagnosis. Lois' significant annual major gift contributions position her in the forefront of our fight on behalf of the estimated 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer's and their families.
An avid walker, you will also see Lois participate each year in the Coralville/Iowa City Walk to End Alzheimer's. Lois doesn't stop with personal investments to advance our cause; she ensures others understand the devastation of this disease. Raising concern and awareness of the Alzheimer's Association as a leader in research, care and support is always on her mind as she knows ever voice is critical in achieving a world without Alzheimer's.
Lois Peterson of Iowa City, Fund Development Mission Award Winner
Public Awareness Mission Award: Iowa Department of Public Safety
More than 60% of persons with Alzheimer's and dementia will wander, and if not found within 24 hours, up to half of individuals who wander will suffer serious injury or death. Since 2009, the Alzheimer's Association has been collaborating with the Iowa Department of Public Safety to address the issue of wandering for individuals with cognitive impairment. The Iowa Department of Public Health helped the Alzheimer's Association bring together a task force including but not limited to the Iowa Police Chief's Association, the Iowa Sheriff's and Deputies Association, the Iowa Broadcasters Association and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
In 2010, the Iowa Endangered Person Advisory (EPA) was created. The EPA is designed to disseminate information about a missing or endangered person to law enforcement and the media. The Endangered Person Advisory is a voluntary partnership between Iowa law enforcement, broadcasters, media and organizations representing Iowa citizens and visitors. The Endangered Person Advisory informs the public about a missing or endangered person. Because of the growing number of Iowans living with cognitive impairment, the Endangered Persons Advisory also empowers local law enforcement to work with the Department of Transportation if their investigation indicates the endangered missing has traveled outside of the local area.
Officer Steve Ponsetto, Chief Graham and Amy Graham accepted the Public Awareness Mission Award
Walk SuperSTAR Award: Deb Thome, Gilbertville
Every individual is an important part of making Walk a success. Our 2010 Walk SuperSTAR Mission Award proves one person’s time and effort makes a difference. Deb Thome was the top individual fundraiser chapter wide raising almost $7,000. Deb took the time to organize a silent auction wrap-around event where the proceeds went to her Walk efforts. She also organized Causal for a Cause at her place of employment as another wrap around for her Walk fundraising. The total from the two wrap around events and Deb’s personal asks totaled over $3,000 but Deb didn’t stop there. Deb found out her company has a matching gift program that matched the dollar amount that she raised in addition to compensation for the amount of volunteer hours she spent organizing her fundraising event.
Year after year Deb continues to go above and beyond her past goals and yes, she has already started her 2011 Walk Fundraising!
Deb Thome Walk SuperStar Mission Award recipient
Service Club Mission Award: 2010 Campus QUASH at UNI
QUASH is the Quest to Unravel Alzheimer’s Scavenger Hunt. This scavenger hunt is a fundraising event recently initiated by the Alzheimer’s Association. Campus QUASH was a pilot to gage whether students in the college demographic would respond and relate to a new awareness event. Because of its remarkable success, Campus QUASH is now an annual event at both the University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa, coordinated by student organizations at each school. The University of Iowa’s Hawkeyes Fighting Alzheimer’s and UNI’s Advocates for Alzheimer’s are student organizations devoted to raising concern for the disease and awareness of the Association, while QUASHing for a cause.
On top of launching the student organization Advocates for Alzheimer’s, the Q-Crew successfully planned and executed the first ever Campus QUASH at UNI. The group worked diligently to plan, promote and execute the high-energy scavenger hunt by utilizing each members strengths, contacts and campus experiences. The students carried great energy and positive attitudes throughout the planning semester and Campus QUASH successfully took place on April 24, 2010. The UNI Q-Crew set a goal to recruit 75 participants and surpassed it with an impressive turnout of 117 QUASHers raising around $10,000 for the cause! The inaugural Campus QUASH at UNI created a lasting buzz on campus, raised awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and recruited numerous young advocates and volunteers.
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Christine Schiltz, Bess Lippman and Kiley Lisk accept the Service Club Mission Award for the entire 2010 Q-Crew
Program Service Award: Dr. Susan K. Schultz
The Alzheimer's Association is committed to accelerating the global effort to eliminate Alzheimer's disease. One of the strongest science commitments of the Alzheimer’s Association is to the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a groundbreaking investigation to identify and standardize strategies for earlier diagnosis and disease monitoring, to which the Association has awarded $4.6 million in grants to date.
Last spring the Alzheimer’s Association initiated a researcher round table discussion at the University of Iowa with Dr. Susan Schultz, and other senior level investigators at the University. Following this meeting, representatives from the Alzheimer’s Association, University of Iowa and the National Institutes of Health continued an on-going dialog, which led to the successful application submitted by our award winner, Dr. Susan Schulz, and to the ultimate award of funding from the National Institutes of Health, making the University of Iowa an Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 2 clinical trial site. ADNI2 will continue to study current participants over the next five years and will enroll new participants with varying degrees of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. The ground breaking study will also help facilitate the design of clinical treatment trials and develop new diagnostic techniques to identify Alzheimer’s disease at the early stages of the disease, ultimately leading to effective treatment and prevention of AD. The significance of this clinical trial will have global impact, and closer to home, will offer Iowans access to a local opportunity to participate in this important work.
Karen Smith accepts the Program Service Mission Award on behalf of Dr. Susan K. Schultz
Advocacy Mission Award: Senator Tom Harkin
With active collaboration and drafting support from the Alzheimer's Association, the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) was reintroduced in February 2010 by Senator Event Bayh and Senator Susan Collins in the Senate (S.3036) and by Representative Ed Markey and Representative Chris Smith (H.R.4689) in the House. This legislation was a top priority for the Alzheimer's Association for some time and enacting NAPA has been the focus of the thousands of Alzheimer advocates from around the country.
The last session of Congress (2009 and 2010) was consumed with intense partisanship and gridlock over the economy and health care system in the United States. In the final weeks of the last session, only a handful of issues would be considered. It was clear the Alzheimer issue needed a champion. Thanks to strong leadership from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair, Senator Tom Harkin and perseverance by our advocates, NAPA was recognized as a priority during the lame duck session. Immediately following Thanksgiving, the committee considered the bill and the Senator hotlined it for unanimous approval of the U.S. Senate, which then went on to the U.S. House for unanimous approval.
On January 4, 2011 President Obama signed NAPA into law, marking the largest legislative victory in many years for the Alzheimer cause. NAPA will create a coordinated national plan to overcome the Alzheimer crisis and will ensure the coordination and evaluation of all national efforts in Alzheimer research, clinical and institutional care and home and community based programs along with their outcomes.
Tamara Milton accepted the 2010 Advocacy Mission Award on behalf of Senator Harkin
New Volunteer of the Year Mission Award: Debra Masek, Lansing
Our New Volunteer of the Year Mission Award was first introduced to the Alzheimer’s Association when she attended a “Know the 10 Signs” workshop near her hometown. She quickly expressed interest in getting involved in the cause due to her family’s current struggles with the disease. That year, she was the team captain of the “Schmidt Sisters” Memory Walk team, the top fundraisers at the 2009 Northeast Iowa Regional Memory Walk in West Union.
Debra joined the 2010 Memory Walk planning committee and played a key role in raising awareness about the disease, the Alzheimer's Association and the Walk throughout Northeast Iowa. Even with her busy schedule as a 5th grade teacher, our new Volunteer of the Year managed to recruit teams, place yard signs and hang posters in many of the surrounding small towns which undoubtedly helped ensure the Walk’s growth in 2010. Our New Volunteer of the year is a true advocate, a passionate volunteer and an inspiring woman. It's a pleasure to include her to our growing list of Alzheimer Champions.
The 2010 New Volunteer of the Year is Debra Masek.
Volunteer of the Year Award: Jon Witherell
After being diagnosed with Younger Onset Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 43, our volunteer of the year accepted his diagnosis, fully embraced his situation, and joined the team at the Alzheimer’s Association. He first attended the Early Stage Town Hall Meeting in 2008, where he became aware of the Alzheimer’s Association and our mission. He then began to regularly attend the Early Stage support group, learning more about the disease and connecting with others going through the same experiences.
Jon had strength and a special sense of humor as he showed us life goes on even with Alzheimer’s disease. He was active in the various aspects of the Alzheimer’s Association including involvement in the Alzheimer’s Association’s fundraising events, advocacy efforts and raising awareness for Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is honored to present our 2010 Volunteer of the Year Mission Award in honor of Jon Witherell in his perseverance and spirited efforts to advocate for our vision of a world without Alzheimer’s.
In a speech describing his experiences as a person with younger-onset Alzheimer's Jon said:
"Sadly, I can almost guarantee that when I leave here today, I won't remember you but please don't forget me and all the people with this mind-robbing disease. Do what you can to save the next generation-help make my generation be the last. We must do all we can and give whatever we can to help find the cause and a cure for Alzheimer's because when we all work together, ordinary people can do extraordinary things.What greater legacy could we leave our children and future generations then to be able to say, 'We've found a cure for Alzheimer's, now go, live without fear, and be happy!"
Judy and Richard Morningstar accepting the Volunteer of the Year Mission Award for Jon Witherell.
In Loving Memory of Jon Witherell
The Alzheimer’s Association would like to thank each and every volunteer for their loyalty and dedication to the East Central Iowa Chapter. With their benevolent contributions and support, we are able to MOVE closer to our vision of a world without Alzheimer’s.
