Team Gartner Ready to Saddle Up
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THIS ISSUE: A COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH Page 8 CONNECTION Brian Firstbrook Lew Schwartz Team GarTner T I P L E S C L U L E M R O L S A I S N ready To S O O I T C A I E N T Saddle Up Y SUMMER 2013 PHY RA Permit # 01870 # Permit Hartford, CT Hartford, PAID U.S. POSTAGE U.S. ORGANIZATION NON-PROFIT MIKE MARQUES PHOTOG Don’t just ride, Bike MS! Darren Kramer News Anchor, WTNH News 8 Two Rides. Randee Roucoulet One destination. Simione’s Ridemonkeys A world free of MS. Windsor: Sunday, June 2, 2013 Westport: Sunday, June 9, 2013 naTIonal mUlTIple SCleroSIS SoCIeTy CHaIrperSon’S meSSaGe ConneCTICUT CHapTer TEL: 860.913.2550 CONNECTION 1.800.FIGHT MS (344.4867) Unite Passion With Commitment FAX: 860.761.2466 t was exhilarating to see so many people step out last month in sup- WWW.CTFIGHTSMS.ORG port of the 2013 Walk MS, presented by Travelers. Thousands of people WWW.NATIONALMSSOCIETY.ORG I rallied to raise awareness and funds, supporting loved ones, neighbors, co-workers and friends battling the potentially debilitating effects of multiple JOHN W. “JACK” BETKOSKI, III CHAIRPERSON, BOARD OF TRUSTEES sclerosis. As many of you may know, my sister lived with multiple sclerosis. It means so much to me, and everyone else touched by MS, to know our com- LISA GERROL munities are engaged in the fight, willing to do something about MS NOW. PRESIDENT AND Although fundraising for Walk MS continues, there are many other excit- CHIEF PROFESSIONAL OFFICER ing events on the horizon. The National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter, 860.913.2550, EXT. 52531 works diligently to offer events where participants can unite their passions annUal CampaIGn with their determination to make a difference in the lives of people with MS. KARA PRESTON The 2013 Fairfield County Women Against ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT MS Luncheon will take place Thursday, May 860.913.2550, EXT. 52533 2, at the Hyatt Regency in Old Greenwich. The luncheon, which will offer boutique CommUnICaTIonS KAREN E. BUTLER shopping before and after the program, will VICE PRESIDENT feature keynote speaker Ronda Giangreco, 860.913.2550, EXT. 52530 author of “The Gathering Table.” Kendra Farn, former CBS News correspondent will deVelopmenT serve as this year’s mistress of ceremonies. NICOLE TOBIN MAROHN Recipients of the 2013 Georgina B. Davids VICE PRESIDENT 860.913.2550, EXT. 52544 Award include, Cheryl Jones, Pam Lind and Amy Lynn. These three Fairfield County FInanCe & admInISTraTIon women have raised more than $92,500 for MS John W. “Jack” Betkoski, III LORETTA SFIRIDIS through their popular event, Cocktails & Crooning For A Cure. This year’s ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT luncheon is expected to raise $120,000 to support vital programs and services 860.913.2550, EXT. 52525 provided by the chapter to those in our state living with MS. And, yes, these proGramS & SerVICeS funds will help to move science closer to a cure. LYNETTE J. COLEMAN It’s also time to saddle up for Bike MS: Red Thread+Steelcase Ride, pre- ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT sented by Louis Dreyfus Commodities. In 2012 the ride attracted more than 860.913.2550, EXT. 52538 950 cyclists and raised more than $500,000. This year, the chapter goal is to raise $539,000. Once again the ride offers two locations – Windsor, on June 2, and Westport, on June 9. If you love to cycle then this ride is for you. manaGInG edITor KAREN E. BUTLER Routes range from two to 80 plus miles. There’s something for everyone in the family. In this issue, you will meet cyclists from Team Gartner (page 4). edITor In CHIeF Co-captained by Lew Schwartz and Brian Firstbrook, this dynamic team has JACQUELINE SEMBOR raised more than $45,000 in two years, earning them top 10 fundraiser status. Our chapter is also hard at work supporting and assisting those who de- GrapHIC deSIGn HAL WOOD pend on us most – the 6,000 Connecticut residents living with MS and their families. The chapter will host its annual MS Community Day, with the New SpeCIal THanKS Britain Rock Cats on Friday, May 17, and June 9 through June 14 MS Vacation Week will be in full swing at Easter Seal’s Camp Hemlocks, in Hebron. Spe- cially designed for accessibility, this facility provides a unique environment for our members. MS Community Day is made possible through the Hay- ley’s Hope and Michaela’s Miracle MS Memorial Fund. For more information CALL TO ACTION on these special programs and others, visit www.ctfightsMS.org or call 800 Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved FIGHT MS (800-344-4867). therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve quality of life for many people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The National Multiple The calendar is full and so is our enthusiasm and determination. The Sclerosis Society’s medical advisors recommend that people with MS talk with their health care professional about using one of these Chapter is relentless in our pursuit of a cure. Thank you for all you do to sup- medications and about strategies and effective treatments to manage port the National MS Society and our quest to create a world free of MS. I’ll symptoms. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is committed to ensuring that people with MS have the information and quality care see you on the battlefield! that they need to live healthy, productive and independent lives. If you or someone you know has MS, please contact the National Multiple Jack Sclerosis Society today at nationalMSsociety.org or 1.800.FIGHT JOHN W. “JACK” BETKOSKI, III MS to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure. Chairperson, Board of Trustees 3 Gartner Gets In Gear for MS By Jacqueline Sembor, Communications Specialist hen Lew Schwartz was just six weeks old, his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. As an infant, Schwartz wouldn’t know the long, Wwinding road that lay ahead. More than 62 years later, Schwartz is still traveling the highway that one day may lead to a cure—now with a dedicated team riding with him. Deeda Schatz Edelson, Schwartz’s mother, lived in the Hartford area most of her life. She was a strong woman, whom Schwartz described as independent and successful despite her illness. One of two female graduates in her class at the University of Con- necticut School of Law, Schatz fought through her MS while studying. After graduation, she began working at a law firm in Hartford. Schatz was a long-time member of both the National MS Society and her local chapter. She lived to see age 70 before passing away in December 1994. Bike MS is the positive intersection“ of my personal struggle for the cause and my love of physical fitness. — Lew Schwartz,” senior vice president and general counsel of Gartner, Inc. MIKE MARQUES PHOTOGRAPHY “My mom lived with multiple sclerosis—it was just part of Firstbrook. “I was excited to help Lew, but I also was excited our lives,” Schwartz recollected. “She never let her symptoms about bringing our people together to support a cause that af- control our lives or hers.” fects so many people in our community. Bike MS is the driving Through his personal experience, Schwartz realized the force behind our newly established corporate cycling club that search for a cure was painstakingly slow. He decided to honor has grown every year since its inception.” his mother by doing his part for the MS cause. Schwartz, now Firstbrook, 51, of Ridgefield, is an active member of two senior vice president and general counsel of Gartner, Inc., cycling clubs in addition to riding with Gartner—the Sound a Connecticut-based global business, turned to the National Cyclists and the Ridgefield Bike Club. Because he is such a pas- MS Society, just as his mother had. Then, Schwartz teamed sionate cyclist, the Connecticut Chapter has enlisted Firstbrook up with the Bike MS community for the first time in 2006. to help map out the Bike MS course, providing a rider’s point- “Bike MS is the positive intersection of my personal strug- of-view to the course design team. gle for the cause and my love of physical fitness,” shared “I like to set goals that will challenge me both as a cyclist as Schwartz, a self-declared avid cyclist who lives in Stamford. well as a fund raiser,” shared Firstbrook. “Gartner is a great “The Bike MS ride is the perfect combination of these two organization that has worked hard to help us get more people things, and the ride quickly became something with which I involved in giving back to the community.” wanted to spend a lot of time.” Last year, Team Gartner was made up of 40 cyclists con- When Schwartz first began riding in the Bike MS event sisting of employees, friends and family. Stamford-based Gart- in Westport, he and roughly half a dozen others formed his ner, Inc., the world’s leading information technology research team. and advisory company, raised $28,221 for the Bike MS: Red “For the first few years we were a small team,” continued Thread+Steelcase Ride, and hopes to exceed that as the team Schwartz, as he reminisced about the early years of Team continues to grow. This year, the co-captains hope to reach a Gartner. “It wasn’t until I met Brian Firstbrook, account roster of 60 and have set a goal of $30,000. manager for IBM at Gartner, that our team really took off on “What is one of the most rewarding parts of creating this a corporate scale.