A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DALLAS EVENT

The first Dallas area fundraising event directed toward the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research effort of the Muscular Dystrophy Association was launched in 1997 by a group of friends whose lives had been touched by this devastating disease. By Dallas standards, this event is relatively small, but we have accomplished great things! Twelve dinners have netted more than $2.8 million. Ewing Autohaus and Mercedes Benz became our lead sponsors in September 2002. The common thread that binds our dinner committee together is a passionate interest in finding treatments and an eventual cure for ALS.

The annual event benefits basic and clinical research underway at the MDA/ALS Center of Dallas located at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the research grants program of the MDA/ALS Division. Dr. Jeffrey Elliott, professor of neurology at UT Southwestern, is director of the MDA/ALS Center of Dallas. In addition to his laboratory research, Dr. Elliott sees patients at the ALS clinic on Mondays.

PAST DINNER CHAIRS

Mary Lynn McEntire
Marilyn and Wade Smith
Roberta and Jack Williamson
Susan Gwin
Candace and Max Swango
Caro Stalcup
Sally and Forrest Hoglund
Heidi and vanAlen Hollomon
Susan and Lincoln Eldredge
Beth and Fin Ewing

HIGHLIGHTS

The first event raises $150,000 with Dr. Robert Brown of Harvard as speaker.

A silent auction is added in 2003.

The event raises more than $300,000 in 2004.

Golfing great Tom Watson is the featured speaker in 2007.

Special thanks to