Think It Over…
Bennett or “Little b”
I’m a grandfather! We have one daughter Jesse, the fabled Guppy of our family Walk team, the Guppy’s Revenge. She and our son-in-law Erik are the proud parents of young Bennett, or “Little b” to those in the know. I have a hunch she’s going to be a major boost to our team’s fundraising this year!
I remember years ago a board member coming into a meeting and announcing, “Bill, I’ve got the word: grandkids!” Over time I’ve come to say every chance I get – we’re in this work in large part for our children and grandchildren. For me, it’s a way of declaring our conviction that Alzheimer’s is not inevitable. I would love to see the National Plan succeed in its stated goal of delivering disease altering treatments by 2025. I’ve seen Alzheimer’s up close and it’s not how I want to finish my time. But if that proves too hard, I’ll settle for delivering my daughter and granddaughter from this worry.
You can read about AAIC elsewhere in this issue, but in June we also held our annual Researcher’s Symposium right here, this year at Stanford. It is a remarkable event with some of the finest Alzheimer’s minds in the world gathered in one place. You get a sense of both the very real and extensive range of challenges and promise. I think they all believe we can beat this thing, but it won’t be easy and it won’t be simple. The answers will likely differ for various patients, much the way cancer and heart disease are treated or prevented today.
We closed our fiscal year in June and this past year our Chapter raised $6.4 million for our Alzheimer’s Association research program, $4 million of it from the Part the Cloud dinner lead by our champion Mikey Hoag and her stalwart committee. Mikey worries about Alzheimer’s for her children and for her we simply can’t move fast enough. I understand.
This brings me around to Walk to End Alzheimer’s, appearing in a park near you in September or October. www.alz.org will get you there, then you need to do the rest “” register, donate, invite family and friends. Walk is that strategic experience that propels the whole movement forward. It’s about care and support, science, advocacy, awareness and it is about raising funds for the mission. You and I need to get to work now “¦ for ourselves and for those generations to come.
Wm H. Fisher, wfisher@alz.org
