Valley family to bicycle 270 miles next weekend in fundraiser for Lou Gehrig’s disease

By William K. ALCORN

alcorn@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

For the third consecutive year, Team Bannon, consisting of Breen, Lisa and Elaine Bannon, will ride the 270-mile Tri-State Trek to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Team Bannon is specifically riding in memory of Chuck Bannon, Lisa and Breen’s brother and Elaine’s husband, who died of ALS at 44.

The 2011 Tri-State Trek from Boston to New York City is this weekend.

“The local team has expanded to include others who have been affected by this terrible disease,” said Breen Bannon, vice president of commercial-insurance sales at Huntington Insurance in Youngstown.

ALS is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects about 30,000 Americans. It leads to total paralysis due to the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. Most people live only three to five years after diagnosis.

Hall of Famer Gehrig of the New York Yankees died of the disease in 1941 at the age of 37.

The new Team Bannon members are Dan Terreri of Youngstown, whose father, Joe Terreri, died of ALS; and Ted Henken of New York City, whose mother, Susie, also died of the disease.

The Bannons met Henken during their first Tri-State Trek in 2009. The Bannons’ son, Adam, and Caroline Sauer will be Team Bannon’s support crew.

To donate to Team Bannon and help raise funds to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:

Go to the website http://tst.als.net/Page.aspx?teamId=142 and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Those who prefer to write a check should make it payable to Tri-State Trek/Team Bannon and mail it to Breen Bannon at 3478 Bentwillow Lane, Youngstown, Ohioi 44511. People can also ask Bannon for an email pledge form.