‘An Evening with Jim Nantz’ Dinner Nov. 23 to Benefit UAMS Reynolds Institute’s STOP Alzheimer’s Fund
| LITTLE ROCK – “An Evening with Jim Nantz” to raise awareness in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, will be hosted by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 23 in the Grand Ballroom of the Little Rock Marriott.
CBS sports commentator Jim Nantz will share his story about his father’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease, his personal commitment to finding a cure and his award-winning career. Net proceeds from this event will benefit the Strategies Toward Overcoming and Preventing (STOP) Alzheimer’s Fund, a UAMS-created program that raises awareness about the disease and supports Alzheimer’s disease research at the Reynolds Institute.
To become a sponsor or purchase tickets, go to giving.uams.edu/jimnantz; or contact Linda Thompson at (501) 686-8100 or thompsonlinda@uams.edu. Individual tickets are $300. Also available are sponsorships starting at $500, which include a VIP reception.
Honorary Chairs for the event are Joe and Jo Ellen Ford. Presenting sponsor is Westrock Coffee Co. Other sponsors include Judy Grundfest and family, Sue Griffin, Ph.D., the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and Bear State Bank.
Nantz, a three-time Emmy Award winner and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year, is the lead play-by-play announcer for “The NFL on CBS,” lead anchor of CBS’ golf coverage, and lead play-by-play announcer for the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
His father, Jim Nantz Jr., who was a lifelong inspiration to him, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 13 years before his death. Nantz told his father’s story in the book “Always By My Side.” In 2011, he founded the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at The Texas Medical Center in Houston.
“Jim Nantz has a powerful, personal story to tell about Alzheimer’s, and the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging is extremely pleased to be able to provide a great atmosphere and venue in which he can tell his story in Arkansas,” said Jeanne Wei, M.D., director of the Institute on Aging and chair of the Department of Geriatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine.
Nantz is a master communicator with a long career in national sports broadcasting, so his audience will be entertained by his storytelling as well as moved and educated about Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s research has long been a focus of the UAMS Institute on Aging.
“Our scientists are well-recognized pioneers in identifying the inflammatory and immune causes of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Wei. “Currently they are working to find new targets for therapy, earlier markers of cognitive aging, and ways to prevent memory loss and functional decline in seniors.”
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,021 students, 789 medical residents and two dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.