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Olympic Champion Headlines Colorado-Wyoming Chapter, National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society’s MS On the Move Luncheon

August 30, 2016

CEO of Johns Manville to be Honored for Contributions to Community

DENVER (August 30, 2016) – On the first day of the 1984 Summer Olympics, Connie Carpenter-Phinney won the first ever women's Olympic cycling road race. She will once again be in the spotlight on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, when she keynotes the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter, National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society’s annual MS On the Move luncheon.
 
Carpenter-Phinney will share her story of triumph as an Olympic athlete, as well as challenges she has faced as a caregiver for her husband Davis who lives with Parkinson’s disease and as a daughter whose mother had MS. 
 
In addition to winning Olympic gold in road cycling, Carpenter-Phinney was a winter Olympian in speed skating and a national champion in Crew during her collegiate days at Cal-Berkeley. Today she resides in Boulder with her husband Davis Phinney, who lives with Parkinson’s disease. Together they founded the David Phinney Foundation, which sponsors programs that provide the information and tools that can help people live well with Parkinson’s.
 
“Connie will share her passion about a living full and creative life,” said Carrie Nolan, Chapter president. “Everyone faces obstacles and challenges in life. How we choose to handle those challenges can make all the difference,” Nolan added.
 
At the luncheon the Chapter will present Mary Rhinehart, president and CEO of Johns Manville (JM), with its annual Spirit Award.  This honor recognizes service to the MS community, and contributions to society and the common good. 
 
Rhinehart has held numerous leadership roles within JM since joining the company in 1979. Prior to becoming CEO, she was the CFO with responsibility for all financial elements of the organization and its global supply chain. She has also played a pivotal role in the growth of JM’s corporate philanthropy program.
 
Rhinehart serves on several boards including University of Colorado Health Systems, CoBiz Financial and Ply Gem Industries Inc. She is on the Executive Committee for the Policy Advisory Board of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and she is a member of the International Women’s Forum, The Colorado Forum and C200. Rhinehart has been honored with several prestigious recognitions, including the Alumni Service Award from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado and was named Woman of the Year by Women’s Vision Foundation and CFO of the Year by the Denver Business Journal.
 
She has participated in Bike MS Colorado since 2012 and has helped Team JM raise more than $500,000 in support of people living with MS. She is one of the internal champions behind the tremendous fundraising efforts and growth of Team JM, which recently raised nearly $100,000 during Bike MS Colorado’s 2016 ride.
 
“We have seen significant progress since the first treatment for MS was introduced in 1993,” said Nolan.  “As of May 2016, there are more than a dozen FDA-approved therapies to help people manage MS, but there is still critical work ahead as the cause and cure remain unknown, and there are no treatments available to stop progression of the disease. Events such as the MS On the Move luncheon help the Society to continue to invest in the global research efforts that will lead to stopping progression of MS, reversing damage caused by MS and ending this disease forever,” Nolan added.

The MS On the Move luncheon takes place from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 at the Westin Downtown Denver, located at 1672 Lawrence St. Tickets are $125 per person or $65 for young professionals age 40 and under. For more information or to register, visit www.cureMSco-wy.org.
 
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About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.

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