Charity Rides

Wed., Feb. 11, 2009 – Janet DiFiore, Westchester Co. District Attorney, served as master of ceremonies at the inaugural NMSS Corporate Breakfast hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Southern NY Chapter. The event was held at the Tappan Hill Mansion, Tarrytown NY, courtesy of a sponsorship from TD Bank. A capacity crowd of thirty Westchester CEOs and business leaders listened to a variety of speakers share their personal experiences with MS – and the role of NMSS in the battle.

The Breakfast is one of the fund-raising activities supporting the April 19, MS Walk 2009, Rye Playland, Rye, NY for the benefit of NMSS. A new motorcycle rally feature, "MS Ride 2009", has been added to this year's event. It is sponsored by the Westchester Beemers Motorcycle Club, with 100% of all rally registration fees and donations going to NMSS.

Adam Kintinsh, retail market manager of TD Bank, Purchase NY, opened by describing the goals of the breakfast and introducing Ms. DiFiore. The Corporate Breakfast is designed to communicate the MS Walk 2009 and MS Ride 2009 event to the corporate community, and solicit their participation with human (volunteers) or financial resources.

Ms. DiFiore spoke about the similarities between NMSS and the responsibilities of the Westchester DA. Both are dedicated to serving and protecting the interests of the general public. Helping victims is another common goal of both. Building a community of shared concern for the health and well-being of all citizens was the last aligned value described by Ms. DiFiore. She closed her remarks by describing the role of the Westchester Beemers in the upcoming event, and introduced Joe Majsak.

Joe talked about his personal connection to MS arising out of his mother's diagnosis at the age of 35. He acknowledged these challenging times, and explained his decision to put his energy into a positive activity such as MS Ride 2009. He closed by reading a moving hand-written note from a motorcyclist from Minneapolis afflicted by MS, who had learned about MS Ride 2009 via the Internet. Joe then introduced Kurt Abisch, President of Westchester Beemers.

Kurt provided a history of the Westchester Beemers, and described its present status. He explained his personal tie to MS; his spouse, Ellen, was diagnosed with MS in November 2008. Kurt shared how this influenced his decision to team up with NMSS for the first charity ride activity for Westchester Beemers. He acknowledged the efforts of fellow Westchester Beemer Lenny Lombardi, also present at the Breakfast, in recruiting corporate sponsors for MS Ride 2009.

Kurt introduced John Galgano, General Counsel and Assoc. Dir. of Labor Relations for Mercy College. John shared a touching personal account of his spouse's MS diagnosis within the last year. This was a very severe initial onset, with vision and mobility symptoms appearing immediately. John described how Laura's participation in the MS Walk in 2008 was a turning point in her recovery.

Ms. DiFiore closed with a sincere plea for corporate support of the April 19th event.

For those interested in corporate participation, please contact Adrianne Martinez, NMSS So. NY Chapter, White Plains NY. 914.694.1654 X48 or adrianne.martinez@nmss.org.