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By Jacqui Boyle,
Staff Writer
6:51 PM Monday, May 28, 2012
Dayton — Leaders of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Southwest Ohio Chapter hope to raise $170,000 or more for Type 1 diabetes research at the Dayton “Come Fly with Me” Gala beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 2, in the Commander Aero Hangar at the Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport in Springboro.
Each year, the gala raises an average of $150,000 for research to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. The gala was first held in Dayton in 1999.
Christine Haaker and her husband Christopher Haaker of Springboro are the 2012 gala chairs. They also chaired the event in 2006 and 2007.
Christine Haaker said she became involved in supporting the foundation after her close family-friends’ two children were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
“Watching them go through that very horrific process tugged at the heart strings and certainly made me more aware of what juvenile diabetes is and what parents of children with juvenile diabetes go through,” she said. “ … I think everyone would agree that having a child who has juvenile diabetes is very emotional, stressful and trying.”
This black-tie event will feature a “Come Fly with Me: Soaring to a Cure” theme and includes a dinner and dancing, and live entertainment from The Tom Daugherty Orchestra and DJ Handy J.
Patrons can bid on live and silent auctions including vacations and tickets to local events. Patrons also can contribute to the Fund a Cure, in which 100 percent of their donation will be placed directly toward research to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
Tickets are $175 per person, and corporate table sponsorships also are available. Registration is accepted online at www.jdrf.org/daytongala or by calling (937) 439-2873.
Dr. Bob Myers and Karen Myers
The 2012 gala will honor volunteers Dr. Bob Myers and Karen Myers, who live in Washington Twp.
Known as the “face and voice” of JDRF in Dayton, Bob Myers and Karen Myers have devoted hours, energy and emotion to the Dayton Chapter of JDRF, with the goal of finding a cure as well as advancing treatment for Type 1 diabetes, according to foundation leaders.
Bob Myers, a pediatrician with Contemporary Pediatric since 1990, has for the past 10 years served the Dayton community through leadership roles including chief of staff at Dayton Children’s and as the food chair for JDRF Dayton’s annual Walk for a Cure. Karen Myers, his wife, has served JDRF as gala chair in 2000, chapter president and then executive director in 2001.
As parents of a now 28-year-old son with Type 1 diabetes, Bob Myers and Karen Myers have been advocates for better accommodations in schools for children with diabetes and for increased support for research from the federal government. Their son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 11 years old.
“When our son was diagnosed, we spent some time kind of underwater,” Karen Myers said. “It’s so overwhelming. There are so many things to learn and so many things to master. The family really gets diabetes.”
Christine Haaker said Karen Myers is an “inspiration.”
“The amount of care and diligence and heart and soul that she put into every event just inspired everyone around her to be part of it,” she said of Karen Myers.
Bob Myers said his wife has a strong ability to lead and instill passion in people to work for a cure.
Bob Myers has offered overwhelming support, too, Christine Haaker said.
“You’ll see him at events talking to parents about what’s happening with their children, making suggestions, making referrals, alleviating fears,” she said.
JDRF
JDRF is now the largest charitable supporter of Type 1 diabetes research, according to foundation leaders.
The goal of JDRF research is to improve the lives of all people affected by Type 1 diabetes by accelerating progress on opportunities for curing, better treating and preventing Type 1 diabetes. Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.6 billion to diabetes research. More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education.
JDRF’s Southwest Ohio chapter serves both the Dayton and Cincinnati regions.
“I believe wholeheartedly in the cause, the importance in finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes,” said Melissa Newman, executive director of JDRF’s Southwest Ohio Chapter since 2011, who resides in Cincinnati. “I’m very motivated by our incredible volunteers across all of Southwest Ohio. … We have a really strong group of people who spend a tremendous amount of energy, time and money on finding a cure for this disease.”
According to Christine Haaker, it is important to raise money for Type 1 diabetes research, as the number of people with the disease continues to increase.
“The statistics are overwhelming,” she said. “And if you know one child with diabetes and you watch them go through their life with many finger pricks and blood tests a day and certainly their insulin injections and how closely they have to be monitored and how limited they are in how they process life … It’s those types of things that make you realize very quickly that we have to hit and we have to hit hard. We’ve got to find a way to fix this.”
Karen Myers said she and her husband are encouraged both by the advances and the passion that drives the foundation.
“Anybody with a child with Type 1 diabetes is never satisfied,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I am satisfied that the people that we have working on this project believe wholeheartedly that a cure is not only possible but that we’re well on our way to it. It’s a huge, huge complicated issue. I think the foundation over the 12 years we’ve been involved continues to evolve itself as the research progresses.”
For more information, go to www.jdrf.org.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2122 or Jacqueline.Boyle@coxinc.com.
