Team to ride 3rd time for ALS
HOW TO HELP
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, OH 44511. People can also ask Bannon for an email pledge form.
Source: Breen Bannon
By William K. ALCORN
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.
Terreri was born in Youngstown and is a graduate of Ursuline High School and Youngstown State University. He has participated in several area triathlons. He and his wife, Kathleen, are the parents of three children and live in Lake Milton. He is owner of Daniel A. Terreri Construction in North Jackson.
Breen Bannon thanked Charlie Macdonnell of Glen Ridge, N.J., for donating all the proceeds from his eighth birthday party to Team Bannon in honor of his grandmother who has ALS.
Bannon said the family and friends are riding the Tri-State Trek again “because we feel like we have to raise awareness about ALS.”
Bannon said riding the trek also allows the family and friends to raise money to find a cure. All the money donated goes to the trek sponsor, the ALS Therapy Development Institute, America’s leading ALS research organization.
“By doing this event, we hope to keep the memory of Chuckie and of Joe alive, give other families now dealing with ALS hope that there will be a cure and inspire people to contribute. Together we can raise enough money to solve this mysterious illness. We promised Chuckie before he died that his suffering would not be in vain,” Bannon said.
“While there are many very worthy charities, I ask you to help fight ALS through our grass-roots campaign. Small and effective, the trek will raise $500,000 toward the $10 million annual budget of ALS TDI,” Bannon said.
“When we meet our goal of raising $16,000 this year, Team Bannon will have raised a total of $60,000 to fund scientific research at ALS TDI,” he added.