Wow ! ! !
All this and $15K too.

You are amazing -- your energy,
your organizational abilities,
your influence on others.

We are so lucky too have you on our side.

Bill
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At 05:19 PM 10/6/2007, Joan Blessington Snyder wrote:

>"When you're hidin' from the night;
>
>Nothin' you do seems to turn out right,
>
>Desperation is in your bone,
>
>You cry for help but there's no one home.
>
>
>
>In the dark again, I tell you friend
>
>The light's gonna shine on you, yes it is."
>
>
>
>It is time once again for my yearly report on the events of our
>Parkinson's weekend and our annual fundraiser, Shake, Rattle & Roll:
>an ice cream social forParkinson's Disease. After months of
>planning, it was finally Friday, September 28th and it was time to
>see if all those plans were going to work! Gary "g-birdboy" Boyd &
>James "tuneshaker4u" Shrader were the first to arrive. I took
>advantage of the fact that James had a truck and we left for the
>airport to pick up my friend Paula Wittekind (paula w). We had to
>pick up my brand new electric wheelchair (a "Zchair), one that I can
>hopefully use without further damage to our home. Soon, almost
>everyone had arrived: Len & Joyce (Jazzy PA) Ferree, "Hobby" Jan &
>"Husband" Alan White,
>
>Marion & Bob Licko and Carol "Caz" & Roger Post.
>That first night, we were all very tired so we had dinner delivered
>to the hotel and only drank a little bit of my homemade Irish Cream.
>The next morning, everyone converged on my house for breakfast and
>to help get us ready for our 'parkie picnic' which started about 1:00 pm.
>
>First we served lunch-hot dogs, deviled eggs, beans, homemade salsa
>& chips-all the regular picnic-type fare. Then we had time to listen
>to my good friend and stem cell researcher, Dr. Craig Cady speak.
>Everytime I hear him, he renews my hope for the future. Paula from
>the Parkinson's Pipeline Project was next, followed by Marion Licko
>and then we had 2 drug reps who spoke and hung around all afternoon
>to interact and to answer any questions. Soon it was time for the
>music to start. Some of my very good friends over the years have
>always had a band called "Ready, Steady, Go" When I asked if they
>might like to play for us in my backyard, they didn't hesitate. They
>play lots of Beatles and other British Invasion music and the crowd
>loved them, They had lots of fun with Chris"cinemearipper" Friggo &
>his girlfriend from Canada as it was his birthday.. We all drank
>champaigne & had birthday cake. I enjoyed myself so much that I
>almost forgot my last-minute errands.
>
>This was an early night because we all had to be downtown Peoria to
>set up on Sunday morning.
>
>Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful: sunny, breezy and no
>humidity. We loaded up a trailer, cars and trucks and all set off
>for the beautiful downtown riverfront where we had our work cut out
>for us. First the guys had to set up the awnings, tables & chairs.
>Then the decorating team took over to cover and skirt the tables,
>run black & red ribbon down the tables and place pots of silk
>tulips. Balloons were blown up in huge bunches and placed all over
>and especially on our walk route. We had workers signing up for
>their appointed jobs: kid's carnival workers, kids stage workers,
>Bradley students to run the sno-cones & cotton candy machines,
>people to man the hospitality table, the id check-in and ticket
>sales, folks to set up tables for the tons of food that was donated
>for our volunteers and entertainers. We also had a food tent to get
>ready and the ice cream social to prepare. Lest I forget, we to have
>registration tables ready to hand out t-shirts and butterflies to
>those who pay $25.00 to do the walk, auction tables to be set w/
>bidsheets and to display the 35 silent and the 7 live auction items.
>We also had soundmen all over the place, getting both stages ready
>for the speakers and the bands. Many hands make anything possible
>and before I knew it was time to gather the 250-300 folks who were
>going to make the walk.
>
>State Representative David Leitch and I led the walkers and when he
>looked back and saw all the people following us, Davud was astounded.
>
>I was thrilled and as we all gathered at the turn-around point, I
>started to get misty-eyed. Everyone got quiet as I told the legend
>of the butterfly & mentioned the names of Gina Reily and Danley
>Wilcox (she with the voice of an angel & he with the soul of a
>lion); two of our own lost this past year. After I finished
>speaking, Hannah Offat, a very talented artist, played her guitar
>and sang a positively soul-filled version of "The Wind Beneath My
>Wings.." After a brief moment of silence, we all released the 200
>butterflies that we had ordered for the occasion. It was a lovely
>sight and there were lots of oooohhhs &aaaahhhs all around. So the
>large crowd walked back to our staging area. Then things really took
>off. Our newsanchorwoman from our NBC affiliate opened up the adult
>stage with mention of the many activities that were available and my
>friend Sharon started off the kid's stage.
>
>She told about the kid's carnival which cost a quarter to play a
>game (such as a ring-toss) and if they won, the child received a
>sticker which could then be traded in for larger items with more
>stickers. The kids entertainment line-up had the Peoria Zoomobile do
>a hands-on demonstration of exotic animals, the Hair Co. Kids (a
>song & dance company), a magician, 2 clowns, and a storyteller. The
>kids loved it and kept it busy all afternoon. Meanwhile on the adult
>stage, things kicked off with the psychedelic/funk/fusion sounds of
>the Nickalogic Groove Project. Then we were treated to the electric,
>eclectic country sounds of Ken Carlyle & the Cadillac Cowboys
>featuring Kent "Doc" LeCouris on the harmonica & trumpet. They were
>followed by the Vanessa Davis Band from Chicago-a crowd pleasing,
>high energy mix of jazz and blues (and whose song "The Light is
>Gonna Shine" is      quoted in this post), all topped off by the
>boogie-woogie southern flavored tunes of the Dave Chastain band-Dave
>is the reincarnation of both Stevie Ray & Jimi. In between bands, we
>heard from Dr, Craig, State Senator David Koehler, and State Rep's
>David Leitch & Arron Schock. The Patricia Pavelka award for the
>outstanding person living with PD was awarded to my long-suffering
>and often complaintless husband Stan. It was a lovely day and I am
>looking for about $15,000 to hand out to local PD organizations. I
>thank you for your prayers and support.
>
>
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>10/6/2007 7:12 PM

Bill Isbell

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