The year Mary Ellen Meisenheimer was diagnosed with MS, her sister called one day and said, “I just want you to know I walked for you today.” Mary Ellen, who was training for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk before she was diagnosed, frequently thinks back to that phone call. “I was in tears, and at the time, I didn’t know they had these things,” she said. The following year, in 2002, Mary Ellen volunteered for Walk MS for the first time.

After volunteering for a number of years, Mary Ellen decided to join the Walk MS Committee for her walk site in Naperville, Illinois. “I remember being at the committee meetings and thinking, if [the Committee Chair] quits, who’s going to do this? I could never do this.” Though she never imagined it, today Mary Ellen is the Walk MS Committee Chair for the West Suburbs, and with the help of her committee members, she is in the midst of organizing her fourth successful Walk MS event.

Initially inspired by her sister to join the movement to end MS, Mary Ellen is continually motivated by the support of her family and friends. “My family, aunts, brothers, sisters, and children, are [at Walk MS] every year to volunteer and are a huge part of it. My family has been a blessing throughout.” She admits the responsibilities of being committee chair can be overwhelming at times, but she believes the hard work is well worth the reward. For Mary Ellen, there’s nothing like the day of Walk MS, where family and friends everywhere walk for their loved ones. “The atmosphere is electric,” she said. “I love it. When it stops being enjoyable, that’s when I’ll stop.”