Flashback to March 2006:  I weighed in at 193 lbs (ouch) and realized I need to either get fit or get ready for a lifetime of FAT.  My body fat scale called me “obese” (not a nice word!) and I was feeling pretty horrible pretty often.
It was then I heard people on the radio talking about the torture of the MS150 and how it benefits mind, body, soul, and 25,000+ people living with the chronic, progressive, and often disabling disease of Multiple sclerosis.  While my initial drive was to see what doing the MS150 could do for me, the most important thing is what you and I can do to help fight MS!

The MS150 for those who don’t know is an annual bicycling event that covers 150 miles of Missouri roads in an effort to raise donations to cure multiple sclerosis (MS).  MS strikes without warning at people ages 20-50, and there is no known cause or cure.  With 200 new cases diagnosed each week and over 25,000 people living with the daily effects of this disease, it seemed the obvious choice is to align myself with an event like the MS150 in order to help this effort and Brutally FORCE myself into improving my fitness.

My goal is to raise $1,500.00 for the National MS Society.  This is 10 miles for each mile I will ride during the event, or $1 for each mile I will have ridden while training for the event, depending on how you wish to look at it.

I know that you are probably hit up for donation money regularly, between boy/girl scouts, band trips, starving children in ___ (insert country here), but I ask that you consider making at least a small donation towards the MS fight.

It opened my eyes recently to consider that people with MS quite likely have no option of helping this cause, either because of the disease crippling their health or because of the financial battles they face as a victim of this illness.  So that means that they need help from people like you!

By donating $150, $100, $75, $25, or any other amount above or below these sample donation figures, you’ll be happy to know that 48% of that money will go to local programs, 31% to research and national programs, 17% to continued fundraising efforts, and an impressively low 4% to administration.

Hundreds of bicyclists are aligned with the National MS Society and will trek nearly 100 miles on Saturday, September 9, from Lee’s Summit MO across rural Missouri highways to Sedalia, MO.  As if that was not at least 6 hours on the bike right there, riders will wake up the following morning and continue their adventure on an additional 60 miles towards Knob Noster MO.  It’s pretty amazing that two days on two wheels plus a donation from you can bring us closer to a cure.

Please visit my NATIONAL MS SOCIETY WEB PAGE and make a donation to my MS150 effort.
As if the search for a cure in itself wasn’t enough, please consider the following incentives and reminders:

• Donate $50 or more and receive a bracelet from Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation.  I’m paying for the bracelets by donating to his organization, and your donation to my MS150 effort will then help both MS and cancer!
• Receive special recognition on my web site when you donate $1 per mile towards the MS150, otherwise equivalent to $150. 
• Net Profit Services customers who donate $500 or more will receive five hours of my work time at no cost.  Use this for site updates, marketing help, or adding a new feature to your web site.  Individuals who donate in this fashion may call on me for a favor to the same degree an I’ll be very excited to perform it!

How to Donate:

• Vist my MS150 web page to donate online.
• Call me at 913.660.0442 to make a donation via credit card or ask questions about the MS150.
• Make a check out to National MS Society and send it to my mailing address.

Remember that:

• All donations are tax deductible
• MS can strike you or your family just as easily as it has striken the 25,000 individuals and families affected by this disease!
• The MS150 is about more than getting in shape and it’s also about more than your donation.  It’s about people coming together to create change in our world and help those who cannot help themselves.
• Your donation to the MS society can help the goal of one day changing the meaning from multiple sclerosis to ‘mystery solved’!