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"Step Forward for Alpha-1 Walk" brings 130 to park in Jupiter, FL, raises $55K for Alpha-1 research
JUPITER, FL – A total of 130 Alphas, their friends and family members participated in the 5K “Step Forward for Alpha-1” walk at Carlin Park in Jupiter on Saturday.
The walk raised nearly $55,000 for the Alpha-1 Foundation’s research programs. Besides the $32,000 donated by sponsors, the goal for the walk was $15,000.
SPIROMETRY TESTING — Juan Izquierdo, RRT, gives a spirometry test to a volunteer at the Jupiter Walk.
The goal had been exceeded by nearly $8,000 as of the latest count on Monday.
Juan Izquierdo, RRT, offered spirometry testing for possible breathing issues, and 16 people took him up on the offer. He was assisted by Mary Gilmartin, RN, RT, who explained the meaning of the results to individuals who took the test.
Personal trainer Nadine Moody led walkers in warm-up exercises before the walk began. Harry and Nancy Gilbert and their family sponsored the DJ entertainment throughout the day.
SHE BROUGHT ‘EM IN — John Walsh, Alpha-1 Foundation president & CEO, gives Mary Gilmartin her award for the largest team of walkers, as walk organizer Gordon Cadwgan looks on.
Kru Alan Bowonthamachakr’s team from Bowon Muay Thai Academy of Wellington, FL, performed in a martial arts show of “Muay Thai” – authentic Thai kickboxing.
Prizes were awarded to the following:
- Largest team – Team Trillium, 15 members led by Mary Gilmartin.
- Highest fundraiser – Patty Tew of Orlando, FL.
- Participant who traveled the farthest – Jean-Marc Quach of Englewood, NJ.
- “Person who made the greatest effort to attend” – Juan Pino, an Alpha who had been hospitalized just the week before and participated in his wheelchair, wearing his oxygen.
THAI KICKBOXING — Team members from Bowan Academy Thai Kickboxing center demonstrate the martial art.
The walk was planned to raise awareness and research funds during November, which is Alpha-1 Awareness Month.
JUAN PINO accepts his award from Angela McBride as “the person who made the greatest effort to attend the walk.”
The weather could not have been better for a walk, sunny and moderately warm, with low humidity and a fine ocean breeze coming in across the nearby beach.
The planned walking trail was 5 kilometers, about 1.25 miles, but everyone could walk whatever distance they found comfortable, and at their own pace. Some real athletes participated, finishing the 5K run well before anyone else.
Gordon and Ruth Cadwgan of West Palm Beach, leaders of the Alpha Gators support group, led the planning committee with the help of the group’s members and Angela McBride, Foundation director of development.
AWARENESS CAKE — Ruth Cadwgan, who with her husband Gordon organized the walk, cuts a cake decorated with a message about Alpha-1 awareness.
Among the many support group members who participated were Glenn Martin, who arranged for food and beverages donated by an impressive variety of local providers, and Dennis Mosley, who helped with photos of the day’s events.
The corporate sponsors were AlphaNet, CSL Behring, Centric Health Resources, Grifols Therapeutics, and Kamada, Inc.
