2008 MS Outstanding Volunteer Award Recipients - Charlotte Area
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Sue Love Boulware has been a Challenge Walk participant since 2005. She walks and raises all of her funds in honor of a woman from her community who has MS. Sue stepped up her involvement with our chapter at this year’s Bike Event. She captained a rest stop near Rock Hill and recruited many of her family and friends to volunteer with her. Sue named the rest stop “Bee Challenged” to raise awareness about the Challenge Walk. Since she is known as the Queen Bee by her fellow Challenge Walkers, the rest stop was abuzz with lots of cute black and yellow bees. Sue is featured on the Challenge Walk website volunteer page and is an MS activist in the Rock Hill community. |
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Terry Carter and Shelley DiDonato have been a great support to our chapter. Shelley leads a self help group in Salisbury and she and Terry volunteer at almost every chapter event. Last year they volunteered at the Salisbury Walk. They served as crew at the Challenge Walk in Palm Key – committing to volunteer each day of the three day event in any way we needed their assistance. Terry and Shelley also volunteered at the 2008 Bike MS event in Greenville helping with registration and cheering cyclists in at the finish line. Recently they volunteered at the MS Service Day in Kannapolis serving others with MS. Terry and Shelley are always moving forward and are committed to creating a world free of MS. |
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Margaret Anne Comer is an MS activist in the Rock Hill community and has been a Challenge Walk participant since 2005. She has been critical in bridging partnerships with York County and Winthrop University. Margaret Anne ran the York County Walk MS its first year and coordinated the Winthrop Bike MS Start site in 2008. She has been influential in stewarding the relationship our chapter has with the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Winthrop University. |
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Each year we recognize the pharmaceutical industry partners whose commitment to our educational programs for people with MS and professionals stands out from the rest. EMD Serono and Pfizer provided underwriting support for education conferences throughout the chapter, including the Carolinas Consortium on MS. They have consistently supported the chapter as committed partners in collaborative efforts that furthered the mission of the National MS Society. Nicole Crawford - EMD Serono |
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Wachovia has supported our organization for many years. In 2008 despite the economy and changes going in the banking industry, Wachovia supported us at its highest levels at both Bike MS and the Dinner of Champions. It is clear that Wachovia truly cares about our cause and the community. We were deeply moved by the commitment of Wachovia’s corporate team- the bike event was right in the middle of the Wells Fargo buy-out, but this dedicated team rode in our ride not even knowing if they would return to jobs Monday morning. This speaks volumes – and we are sincerely thankful. Ty Greene - Wachovia Bike MS Team Captain |
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Lynette Hague began volunteering with our chapter over a year ago. She serves as an extension of our Programs staff and has worked tirelessly on what we call the IRC Database Project. At first, Lynette was part of the team who cleaned up the database, now she is helping us to manage it. Lynette has trained other volunteers, scheduled volunteers, was a featured guest speaker on a national MS Society conference call about her volunteer efforts, and has compiled reports on the progress of the IRC project. Lynette consistently comes into the office each week to work on this database of information and referral resources for people living with MS. |
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Jackie Jones has fundraised and volunteered in many capacities since she became involved with the National MS Society. She has walked in the Challenge Walk since 2003 and participated in Walk MS and the Great Gatsby. Through her event participation, she has raised over $76,000 for our chapter! Jackie has been a Board Trustee since 2005 serving on the Development Committee and as Vice Chair and Chair of the Governance Committee. She also served on the Chapter President Search Committee last year and was on the Volunteer Engagement Initiative Pilot team that was responsible for developing and piloting the What a Difference a Day Makes! MS Service Day program. Jackie’s commitment and dedication to the chapter is truly evident. |
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Geri Mando contacted the MS Society after she had taken early retirement from one of the banks here in Charlotte. Geri began volunteering in our programs department providing outreach to people Newly Diagnosed with MS. She played and integral role in crafting the chapter’s process for engaging people newly diagnosed with MS. Geri set the course for developing a process that other volunteers can follow. |
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Paige Strickland has participated in the Challenge Walk since 2003 and has raised a total of $27,000 for our chapter! She is a Challenge Walk committee member and chairs the mentoring sub-committee. Paige is an MS Ambassador and is always eager to speak about the mission of the National MS Society. Paige is featured on the Challenge Walk website. |
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Marlene Wilson has served on our Board of Trustees since 2006, serving as Secretary in 2007 and 2008 and currently as the 2nd Vice Chair. She has been a member of the Great Gatsby Committee since 2006 and has chaired the committee since 2008. Marlene served on the Chapter President Search Committee in 2008 and volunteered at the very first What a Difference a Day Makes! MS Service Day in 2007. Through her business relationships Marlene has helped secure thousands of dollars of in-kind donations for the Bike Ride and Walk MS. She has also recruited critical volunteers to our cause. |