Alzheimer's disease has affected my immediate family twice – both my mother and father. I have been active in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walks®, twice serving as a chairman. My younger sister started a walk in her small town in Missouri – raising over $25,000 in the first year, and every year since. In addition my family has sold copies of my father's book of poetry, The Plowboy Poet, in order to donate money to help those who suffer from Alzheimer's. 

I feel that we do our part, but this is not enough. We need funding for research, which will not only help to find a cure but also decrease the astronomical costs of caring for patients with this devastating disease.