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Hear, hear, Robin! We have talked about this as well and fully agree Carole Cassidy -----Original Message----- From: Parkinson's Disease Foundation [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Saturday, December 05, 1998 5:46 AM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Re: Michael J. Fox - Should he be exclusively NPF's spokesman? As usual, Bob Dolezal raises an important point and puts it well. For what it's worth, I have a strong opinion on this subject and it has three bits to it. First, to state the obvious, it is Michael Fox's personal choice, not ours, as to whether, how, when and in what way he puts his extraordinary celebrity potential to work in our cause. Second, it is my hope -- and I believe the hope of all of us -- that he will in fact choose to give some time and energy to represent us in a variety of ways, whether it's advocating in Washington (there's a lot of new issues coming up there, beginning with stem-cell research debate), speaking out through the media or appearing at the benefit and educational events of PD organizations. Even a dozen appearances a year of this kind would do wonders for our cause and I am sure he knows that. Third -- specifically to Bob's question -- I feel very strongly that Michael Fox should not be asked by ANY of us to represent a single organization--including my own--exclusively. It is our opportunity (even, our obligation) to show him the whole picture, which, in the PD field (whether we like it or not) is a mosaic of different contributions and approaches from a variety of different, reputable organizations. My own suggestion, which I have made to Fox and his folks directly, is that a group of us get together with them to outline the ways he could help us, from appearances at the various organizations (NPF, APDA, PI, PAN, PDF) to availability for Washington appearances and other crucial interventions on public policy issues. I have offered to help convene such a meeting but would gladly defer if someone else were more appropriate. I do believe we all learned something from our experience with Muhammad Ali, who started out as a public figure available to all and then tied his wagon to a single horse. It's not that he was poorly used; I personally think that NPF has done a great job with him (I attended the event in Pittsburgh last May that was led by Jim Cordy and it was simply fabulous) and that the field as a whole has benefited from his appearances. But people of the stature of Ali and Michael Fox are really public assets of huge proportions and all reputable organizations should have access to their councils and the opportunity to help determine their course. Ultimately, as I wrote at the outset, the choice is that of Mr. Fox. But he should have available to him the best advice, civilly and carefully coordinated. And in our diverse field, this means all of us. robin elliott, executive director, parkinson's disease foundation