Vol. 39, No. 45 Section 01 Tallahassee, Florida Nov. 7-13,2013

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Scores Came Out for the the Annual “Forget Me Not Walk” and Fall Festival

By Aldranon English II

Outlook Writer

Smiling faces, laughter and a high volume of walk-ing individuals on a beautiful, brisk and sunny after-noon was the per-fect setting for the annual “Forget Me Not Walk” and Fall Festival organized by The Alzheimer’s Project, Inc. of Tal-lahassee.

The fundraising event took place at Lake Ella and was organized to spread awareness of Al-zheimer ’s disease. The fundraiser pro-vided free food, games, and prizes to all participants. The Alzheimer’s Project has been around for more than 20 years, providing free ser-vices to individuals affected by the dis-ease.

“The Forget Me Not Walk” is one of our biggest fun-draisers of the year that brings in be-tween $30,000 to $40,000 annually, but this year we ex-

pect over $50,000 for the event,” said James Smith, coor-dinator of the event.

The fundraiser served as host of a mutual relation-ship between The Alzheimer’s Project and its sponsors.

“It is a great way for The Alzheimer’s Project to show the community what we do as well as us showing our ap-preciation for their support and con-tributions,” said Smith.

President Lew

Wilson of Local Senior Discounts, an online directory providing individu-als over the age of 50 special discounts and offers, served as guest emcee for the event. Teams were created from each participat-ing organization to

partake and donate. Proceeds will go to The Alzheimer’s Project, Inc. for funding year round. Many individuals from different or-ganizations came to support the cause. Donna Wells and Paul Henderson were a few of the

many representa-tives from Capital Health Plan.

“We put together a team for this walk. Each person makes a contribution as well as being a sponsor,” Wells

Photos by Aldranon English IIscores of walkers enjoyed a brisk and sunny Sunday afternoon during the annual “Forget Me Not Walk” and Fall Festival organized by The Alzheimer’s Project, Inc. of Tallahassee

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said. “It is some-thing we support; we always support The Alzheimer’s Project.”

The Pilot Club of Tallahassee was another contributor in attendance. The Pilot Club of Tal-lahassee spearheads efforts in the areas of brain disorders, including Alzheim-er’s disease. Claire Mikko, represen-tative of the Pilot Club, explained some of the Club’s efforts in address-ing the disease.

“We have part-nered with The Al-

zheimer’s Project Inc. and the Leon County Sheriff’s Department on Project Lifesaver, an electronic track-ing system for Al-zheimer’s, Down Syndrome and Au-tistic citizens who may have wondered away from home. Many of our proj-ects help aid and fund research on this debilitating dis-ease,” said Mikko.

Local businesses were not the only ones advocating for the event. There were several high school clubs and organizations in at-tendance as well. Abby Andrews, a

student at Chiles High School, was there to volunteer with festivities. Andrew’s organiza-tion, Chiles Anchor Club, was excited of the overall par-ticipation.

“We want to help make everything go smooth and help the community.”

This is Andrews second time vol-unteering at the event, but the third time the club has participated. Chiles Anchor Club is also sponsored by Pilot Club of Tallahassee that was in atten-dance.

McConnaughhay, Duffy, Coonrod, Pope and Weaver

Law Firm, a local firm in Tallahas-see, was one of the big contributors of the fundraiser. Tal-lahassee Memorial Hospital, Publix and individuals from Florida A&M University’s Oc-cupational Therapy Program were also present for the event, but the larg-est sum of contri-

butions collected came from Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Hinkle. The couple was able to raise more than $30,000 in do-nations. Mr. Hinkle, who turned 65 years old Sunday, also suffers from Al-zheimer’s disease.

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