Everybody Walks for MS!From Hollywood to Wall Street to East St. Louis The fight against multiple sclerosis hit the mainstream media in the past year, from talk-show host Montel Williams' August 23 disclosure that he has the disease to the inclusion of a character with MS on a prime-time drama, The West Wing (see separate article, page 19). But the latest development is strictly G-rated: Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . is hosting the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, MS Walk on its studio lot in beautiful downtown Burbank--with costumed characters The term costumed character generally refers to a costume that covers the performer's face. These range from theme park "walk-around" characters, the mascots of corporations, schools, or sports teams, some novelty act performers, to personal fursuits. representing Bugs Bunny and Tweety and Sylvester joining in. The Southern California Chapter of the Society is responsible for Warner Bros.' hosting this Walk, which takes place Sunday, April 9. (Call 1-800-FIGHT MS for information on your local Walk date.) The Walk route includes such attractions as the Western set used in Blazing Saddles and the back-lot streets where the Batman movies were filmed. "It's a great pleasure for all of us at Warner Bros. to support this very worthwhile cause by hosting a site for the MS Walk 2000," said Barry Meyer, chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Warner Bros. "It is our hope that a walking tour through our historical lot can help in some small way to reach the ultimate goal of eradicating this devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. disease." "As walkers take a brief look at Warner Bros.' past, our eyes and our hearts will be hoping for a future when the cause and the cure for multiple sclerosis are found," added Alan Horn, the company's president and COO. Joining Bugs and Tweety ... Meanwhile, some 10,000 Walk teams are gearing up for MS Walks all across the country. 1999's most lucrative team, not surprisingly, was that of New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. investment firm Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., or simply Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the world's largest global investment banks. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street. & Co., which raised no less than $120,014. "But not every team is a $100,000 team," said Betty Ross, the Society's ebullient director of Campaign Development. "We love the teams that are raising $3,000, $4,000, or $5,000--they add up to a lot of money." Case in point: the Steamfitters' Local 439 Team in East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 31,542. . About 30 walkers, captained by Jane Bailey, are walking for the Gateway Area Chapter. Ms. Bailey, whose brother-in-law has MS, is office manager at the local, and her brother, Totsie Bailey, is business manager. Brother and sister have been networking with other unions at a furious pace. "We do a lot with the Ironworkers, the Boilermakers, the Carpenters, and the Plumbers," said Ms. Bailey. "We're asking all of them to have all their locals try to raise money also, like a little competition." Last year, the team raised $5,592. But there is only one bottom line, as she pointed out: "I hope we get enough to cure this somehow." |
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