Dec 01, 2008
CAST MEMBER OF SURVIVOR AUSTIN CARTY WAS A FEATURED SPEAKER AT MS SOCIETY NATIONAL CONFERENCE; CENTRAL NC CHAPTER RECEIVED PRESTIGOUS AWARDS
LOCAL VOLUNTEER OF THE CENTRAL NC CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL MS SOCIETY AND CAST MEMBER OF SURVIVOR WAS A FEATURED SPEAKER AT MS NATIONAL CONFERENCE; CHAPTER RECEIVED PRESTIGOUS AWARDS
Austin Carty, a volunteer of the Central NC Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and cast member of Survivor Panama: Exile Island, was a featured speaker at the National MS Society’s 2008 National Conference held in Chicago, IL this November.
Although the world may have seen Austin learning survivor skills on national TV, he really began learning them from his mother, Mausty Carty, when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the summer of 1999. Austin believes that for the past nine years, his mother has been the true survivor in their family. He says that he and his younger sister, Elizabeth, have constantly watched in awe of their mother’s ability and determination to “outwit, outplay, and outlast” her MS. Following in their mother’s footsteps of involvement with the Women’s Luncheons, Elizabeth and Austin formed a Walk team and surprised their mother on the day of the Walk with team t-shirts in her honor.
A former national model, actor and a critically acclaimed writer, Austin was a star on CBS’s Survivor where he led network popularity polls and has since been internationally sought after to serve as a motivational speaker for a wide array of events. Austin’s messages focus on how his faith, along with inspiration from his mother, allowed him to not only persevere and survive on Panama: Exile Island, but allow him to persevere and survive no matter what challenges one may be presented with throughout life.
So much more than a product of reality TV, Austin is an engaging speaker with a keen insight into the minds of individuals of all ages. Austin, who was writing and speaking long before Survivor calling, is a noted essayist/novelist whose words have been featured in such publications as Today’s Christian, Burnside Writer’s Collective, New Man, and Infuze Magazine. He is the author of Somewhere Beyond Here, released in 2003, which was highly influenced by his mother’s fight with MS. He also recently signed a book deal with Penguin Group in NYC and is anticipating a fall 2009 release date.
“The MS Society is so fortunate to have such a dedicated volunteer. It is truly an honor for our chapter to have one of our volunteers selected to speak at our National Conference. His experience and dedication to creating a world free of MS is such a value to our organization” says Elizabeth Green, President of the Central NC Chapter of the National MS Society.
CENTRAL NC CHAPTER RECIEVES AWARDS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
The Central NC Chapter of the National MS Society received a Million Dollar Bike MS Award in recognition of the local chapter raising over $1 Million for a fourth straight year. The Bike MS: BB&T Tour to Tanglewood was held on September 6th-7th starting at Volvo Trucks NA in Greensboro and ending at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons. The chapter was also recognized with an award for the fourth consecutive year for fulfilling the Promise: 2010 Commitment. Having pledged to raise $250,000 over the next five years for Promise: 2010, the Central North Carolina Chapter became the first of the nearly 50 participating chapters to fulfill its commitment – in less than one year.