Golf Tournament, Auction to Benefit ALS Research at UAMS

April 20, 2006 |

LITTLE ROCK –  The 6^th annual Paul Dunn Golf Classic & Auction, to benefit the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) search for better treatments and a cure for ALS, will be held May 21 and 22.

The tournament and auction are named in memory of Arkansas native Paul Dunn and others who have fought the battle against ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. All proceeds from the classic will benefit research programs through the ALS Clinic and Research Center at UAMS.

The cost per team is $500 and $125 per person. Please call Cathy Sanders at UAMS, 501-526-7399, to register or for more information. Or visit the Web site www.pauldunnclassic.com.

Upon being diagnosed with the disease in 2000, 28-year-old Paul Dunn asked his friends and fraternity brothers to help him raise money to fight ALS. Dunn witnessed the first two golf tournaments before succumbing to his illness in 2002.

“It was just like Paul to think of others first and want to make a difference,” said Brian Loeb, a volunteer organizer of the event. “We’re committed to carrying on our promise to Paul until a cure for ALS is found.”

“A Cure Within Reach,” an auction with guest emcee Jancey Sheats, will be held Sunday, May 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Junior League of Little Rock’s Woman’s City Club, 400 South Scott Street. As guests enjoy hors d’oeuvres, drinks and live music by Richie Johnson, silent auction tables will open at 6 p.m., with the live auction beginning at 8 p.m. Hospice Home Care is the auction’s corporate sponsor. Tickets are $20.

The golf tournament will be Monday, May 22, at the Maumelle Country Club, 100 Club Manor Drive in Maumelle. Presented by Simmons First National Bank, there will be two shotgun starts. The day begins with registration and a light breakfast at 7 a.m., and the first shotgun start at 8 a.m., followed by lunch and awards from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration for the second round begins at noon with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m., followed by pizza and awards from 4:30-6.

The Paul Dunn Golf Classic & Auction have raised more than $100,000 since their inception. Organizers hope to raise $40,000 this year.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease affecting as many as 30,000 Americans with 5,000 new cases occurring each year. ALS destroys cells that control voluntary muscles, which leads to severe muscle wasting and paralysis. Death typically results within three to five years of diagnosis, usually from respiratory complications. The cause of ALS isn’t fully understood and no cure exists.

The ALS Clinic and Research Center at UAMS follows approximately 75 Arkansans with ALS under the care and direction of Stacy Rudnicki, M.D., and a team of speech, occupational, respiratory and other medical specialists. Research and clinical trials conducted by John P. Crow, Ph.D., and other scientists at UAMS help create new paths and provide hope to finding better treatments and a cure for ALS.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,320 students and 690 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with almost 9,000 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the VA Medical Center. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.3 billion a year.