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i was honored to host a reception/presentation/press conference for Dr. Craig Cady, a noted and brilliant stem cell researcher in Peoria, IL at Bradley University. altho invited, Governor Rod Blagoojevich has not been able to break away from Chicago to make a tour of this marvelous lab. (i have been bothering his poor aide in scheduling by calling him two times a week for the past 6 months-adhering to that old "it's the sqeeky wheel that gets the oil" form of politicing!) we were thrilled some months ago when he announced that he had earmarked $10 million dollars for stem cell research and we are hoping to generate interest in Dr. Cady's research to funnel some of that money to central Illinois rather than see it all go to Chicago. So far, I have not been able to get him to make the trip down to Peoria. The state's two Senators, whom I am friendly with (Barrak Obama & Dick Durbin) as well as my US Congressmen friends (Lane Evans & Ray LaHood) were still in session and unable to attend. But we had an a wonderful turnout without the "big gun" politicians. State Rep. David Leitch, Dr. Dick Lister, Dr. Robert Bolla, and lots of the Board of Regents as well as the proviso of Bradley were there. Also the press turned out in legion. and so did representatives from United Way,Community Foundation, PeoriaNEXT!, U of I Collage of Medicine, the head of the Movement Disorder Clinic at Methodist Hospital and concert promoter Jay Goldberg were all in attendence. the setting was the Bradley Student Center's Alumni Dining Room and started at 10:30 in a festive setting of red, green & gold ribbon, candy canes & candles. i had the opportunity to thank all those who had helped me plan, organize and pull off CALIPSO'S Shake, Rattle & Roll for Parkinson's Disease. Then I presented awards to some of the main players in my fundraising efforts. Finally, I was able to present to Dr. Craig Cady, two checks; one for $1.060 raised in England by Peter and Nancy Boot at their fundraiser for PD called "Fill Your Head With Rock" concert. they had visited Dr. Cady's lab while in town for S,R&R and were so impressed that they went home and raised the money that he was thrilled to recieve. i then had the distinct pleasure to award Dr. Cady with a check for $10,000 from Calipso's first 'keep the funds local' fundraising attempt. i cannot tell you the high hopes and the strength of commitment to finding a cure for PD that emminated from that gathering. i am including this blurb from the Peoria Journal Star: /The Stem Cell Research Lab and Dr. Craig Cady received more than $11,000 Friday - $1,060 from Pete and Nancy Boot and $10,000 from the recent "Shake, Rattle and Roll for Parkinson's Disease" fund-raiser./ /"Most people don't realize how hard it is," Cady said in receiving the funds. "Many of the people helping in this fund-raiser suffer from Parkinson's disease."/ /Cady, concert promoter Jay Goldberg and State Rep. David Leitch cited Joan Blessington Snyder, who spearheaded the effort despite her own battle with the disease. Leitch says, "Clearly, there could be no greater advocate in the country for research on Parkinson's disease." / A heartfelt thank you to all who helped and attended this funciton and the earlier event. -- Joan Blessington Snyder 54/14 [log in to unmask] http://www.pwnkle.com/jes/jes_web/index.htm “Hang tough……..no way through it but to do it.” Chris in the Morning Northern Exposure ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn