Post by Ms. Fitness® on Sept 12, 2005 16:51:59 GMT -8
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 9, 2005 — An award ceremony honoring Newport Beach, Calif., resident Augie Nieto, a fitness industry entrepreneur fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), raised $1,041,000.00 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s ALS Division.
The funds raised will go directly to an ALS research fund, Augie’s Quest… Cure ALS Research Fund, started by Nieto to help others with this deadly disease.
Nieto was honored at the National Fitness Industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award reception in Las Vegas last night.
Nieto received a diagnosis of ALS in March of 2005, and teamed with MDA to do everything he can to stop ALS.
"I am taken back by the love, support, and generosity of our Fitness Industry and our friends," Nieto exclaimed. "And this is just the beginning. We hope to be able to build on this event to continue to fund Augie’s Quest - focusing monies to search for a cure for ALS."
The $1 million raised made MDA history as its largest-grossing, first-time event. The night will fund more than 16,000 hours of ALS research. Nieto will personally work with the country’s top ALS experts to choose how funds from his "Quest" are spent on ALS research.
Former recipient Ron Hemelgarm presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Nieto, chairman of Octane Fitness, for his long-standing support and devotion to the fitness industry. At 19, Nieto bought the marketing rights to the Lifecycle exercise bike, and later co-founded Lifecycle, Inc. Under his leadership, the Chicago-based Life Fitness Inc. grew to be the largest commercial manufacturer of fitness equipment in the world.
More than 800 of the fitness industry’s top executives were in attendance including 24 Hour Fitness, Click Commerce, CortiSlim, Equinox Fitness Clubs, Heart Rate Inc, LA Fitness, Leiner Health Products, Makar Properties, Paramount Fitness Corp., Quest Software, R.D. Olson Construction, Sares Regis Group, SM&A, Yogafiy and many more.
ALS is a disease of the parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. As nerve cells are gradually lost, the muscles they control become weak and then nonfunctional. Respiratory complications typically develop and life expectancy is three to five years after diagnosis.
MDA’s ALS Division leads the world in providing research and services for people with ALS. The Association is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains some 240 clinics for adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases, including 35 dedicated MDA/ALS centers at major medical institutions.
For more information on Augie’s Quest…Cure ALS Research Fund, please visit www.als.mdausa.org/augie/. For more information on MDA, please visit www.mdausa.org.
The funds raised will go directly to an ALS research fund, Augie’s Quest… Cure ALS Research Fund, started by Nieto to help others with this deadly disease.
Nieto was honored at the National Fitness Industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award reception in Las Vegas last night.
Nieto received a diagnosis of ALS in March of 2005, and teamed with MDA to do everything he can to stop ALS.
"I am taken back by the love, support, and generosity of our Fitness Industry and our friends," Nieto exclaimed. "And this is just the beginning. We hope to be able to build on this event to continue to fund Augie’s Quest - focusing monies to search for a cure for ALS."
The $1 million raised made MDA history as its largest-grossing, first-time event. The night will fund more than 16,000 hours of ALS research. Nieto will personally work with the country’s top ALS experts to choose how funds from his "Quest" are spent on ALS research.
Former recipient Ron Hemelgarm presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Nieto, chairman of Octane Fitness, for his long-standing support and devotion to the fitness industry. At 19, Nieto bought the marketing rights to the Lifecycle exercise bike, and later co-founded Lifecycle, Inc. Under his leadership, the Chicago-based Life Fitness Inc. grew to be the largest commercial manufacturer of fitness equipment in the world.
More than 800 of the fitness industry’s top executives were in attendance including 24 Hour Fitness, Click Commerce, CortiSlim, Equinox Fitness Clubs, Heart Rate Inc, LA Fitness, Leiner Health Products, Makar Properties, Paramount Fitness Corp., Quest Software, R.D. Olson Construction, Sares Regis Group, SM&A, Yogafiy and many more.
ALS is a disease of the parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. As nerve cells are gradually lost, the muscles they control become weak and then nonfunctional. Respiratory complications typically develop and life expectancy is three to five years after diagnosis.
MDA’s ALS Division leads the world in providing research and services for people with ALS. The Association is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains some 240 clinics for adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases, including 35 dedicated MDA/ALS centers at major medical institutions.
For more information on Augie’s Quest…Cure ALS Research Fund, please visit www.als.mdausa.org/augie/. For more information on MDA, please visit www.mdausa.org.
