’09 Conference Exceeds Expectations

weather and in-depth planning.
The disease
Their other goal, battling ALS, is still a wor k in
progress, as they remain short of the $1 million they
had hoped to raise. But with sales of books, a D VD
and speaking engagements, total donations have topped
$230,000 and Garratt is still hopeful.
ALS remains a deadly foe, attacking motor neur ons
in the brain and spinal cord, striking both men and
women at any age, of any ethnicity. More than 350,000
people worldwide — 30,000 of them in the U.S. —
suffer from ALS, but to date there is no known cure.
ALS claims 90 percent of its victims within five years.
“My mother’s ALS diagnosis certainly shocked our
family,” Garratt acknowledged. “Our focus at first was
to take care of her. Once she passed away, I looked for
ways I could actually fight the disease.”
And fight it she has. “CarolAnn is one of our
foremost fundraisers,” said Maureen Lister, chief
operating officer of the ALS Therapy Development
Institute, the world’s largest ALS research center and
recipient of money raised by “Dash for a Cure.”
“She chose a unique way to raise money, plus I don’t
think anyone else could have driven this project from
conception to completion the way she has,” Lister said.
“The time commitment she and Carol Foy made was
incredible, far beyond what most volunteers do.”
Learn more
On the Web:
For information about the flight, go to
www.alsworldflight.com, where donations can be
made online. For information on the ALS Therapy
Development Institute, go to www.als.net.
From books:
“Upon Silver Wings II” documents CarolAnn
Garratt’s journey; cost is $30, including shipping and
handling for shipments within the U.S. Both editions
are sold at https://dashforacure.alscommunity.org/
GroupSite/tabid/54/view/Default/Default.aspx or go
to www.amazon.com.
Signed copies are available for a small additional
fee from Garratt directly at cagarratt@att.net or
352-342-7182.
Footnotes to a great adventure
Garratt said one thing she learned fr om this
particular flight is that she won’t do it again: “It was
much tougher physically than I’d thought.
“But I also learned if you set your mind to do
something and plan it thoroughly, it will work out,”
added Garratt, a message she said she intends to driv e
home with the CAP cadets she teaches at her home
squadron, the Florida Wing’s Marion County
Composite Squadron. ▲
Background: In San Diego, the first scheduled stop, the Mooney
taxies to a waiting crowd at Brown Field. Photo courtesy of Chris Cooper
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