I am pleased to join with Larry Hoffheimer in announcing the hiring of Bill
Turenne as the NPF Grassroots Coordinator located in Washington DC. This
is yet another resource being brought to bare as our legislative leaders
prepare to try to move the Udall Bill.
Join me in welcoming Bill to a community that sees all the components
pulling together. Bill is intended to be a resource to that entire
community. Share your thoughts and ideas with him and help him get up to
speed as quickly as possible. Bill's priorities are set by me with the
input from the Parkinson's Advocates Steering Committee (see related post).
Bill works out of Larry Hoffheimer's office and Larry provides day to day
guidance. I urge everyone to enthusiastically support Bill and this
committee.
Our Congressional sponsors plan to push the Udall Bill after the July 4th
recess. We urge everyone who can come to DC the week of July 13 to do so
to demonstrate that we will not be denied. Bill's immediate goal is to
find people to come to DC July 13-15 from the following states which we are
lacking cosponsors:
Seats Not CoSpn
Illinois 22 15
Michigan 18 13
Tennessee 11 10
North Carolina 14 10
Jim Cordy
Pittsburgh
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The National Parkinson Foundation Increases Efforts to Pass Udall Bill
The National Parkinson Foundation is pleased to announce the recent
employment of Bill Turenne as its Grass Roots Coordinator effective Monday,
June 16, 1997. Bill will be working in the offices of Larry Hoffheimer who
serves as Washington Counsel to the National Parkinson Foundation.
Turenne's principal function will be to help organize the many Parkinson
support groups across the country to enlist additional sponsors for the
Udall Bill which provides for a significant increase in research funding
for Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Turenne has worked on Capitol Hill for several Senators and most
recently worked to support the grass roots efforts of the Smoker's Alliance
in Washington, DC. Bill will be working directly with representatives of
all major Parkinson organizations including APDA, PDF, and PAN, to enhance
their effectiveness and facilitate better coordination. These
organizations have held very productive meetings and conference calls
recently. Bill will take a lead role in these efforts. He will receive
day-to-day- supervision from Larry Hoffheimer. Jim Cordy, who serves as
President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation,
and a recently elected NPF Board member, will provide directional
assignments to Mr. Turenne stemming from Mr. Cordy's leadership of the
Udall Coordinating Council, a key group of Udall Bill activists which
includes representatives from the major Parkinson organizations.
An "800" number has been obtained to facilitate communications. Both Bill
and Larry can be reached on this line. It is (888) 331-4NPF (4673). You
will also be receiving regular posts from Bill on the Parkinson Listserv
aswell as other email bulletins, etc. His email address is
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NPF is urging ALL persons interested in the Udall Bill to come to the Udall
Public Policy Forum in Washington in July. This is a very important
opportunity to lobby in person for the Udall Bill. To demonstrate our
commitment, NPF will be sponsoring the travel of several persons who are
unable attend for financial reasons. Those persons who are interested in
receiving travel assistance should call Bill Turenne.
NPF is deeply committed to passage of the Udall Bill this session of
Congress and is working with other Parkinson's organizations to increase
pressure on the U.S. Congress towards this end. NPF arranged for Muhammad
Ali to appear before a congressional committee as well as his writing
personal letters to ALL members of Congress in support of the Udall Bill.
We printed and disseminated hundreds of thousands Muhammad Ali post cards
in support of the Udall Bill and recently produced a political advocacy
instructional video featuring Senator John McCain which urges support
groups to lobby for the Udall Bill.
Larry Hoffheimer
