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Alzheimer's Association chimes in
Michigan Great Lakes Chapter moves to Clocktower complex
By Sheila Pursglove, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: April 17, 2008
The historic Chelsea Clocktower complex is rolling out the welcome mat for the Alzheimer's Association Michigan Great Lakes Chapter. The organization's corporate and south-central region staff will move from the current offices on Aprill Drive in Scio Township by May 1.
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The announcement was made Tuesday at a "Breakfast of Champions" held at the Kensington Court hotel in Ann Arbor.
The move, made possible by the generosity of McKinley - the company that renovated the Clocktower at 320 N. Main St. in Chelsea - is part of an ongoing effort to cut operating costs, thus allowing even more money to be put into services for Alzheimer's patients and their families and caregivers, said Elizabeth Longley, president and CEO of the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter.
The move will save the organization close to $20,000 a year in rent.
"McKinley has given us a wonderful deal and phenomenal space," Longley said. "We're excited to be in Chelsea, and to be embraced by the community."
McKinley founder Ron Weiser was one of several people honored as a "Champion," and received a plexiglass Wheaties box bearing his photograph. Several McKinley staff members attended the breakfast.
Longley lauded Weiser as a U.S. ambassador, philanthropist, and supporter of non-profits, who has personally donated a $20,000 financial gift to the Chapter. He also is the founder and driving force behind McKinley, a company that supports the Chapter, provides board members, and has donated to the annual Memory Walk. In addition, McKinley CEO Albert Berriz mentored Longley, she said.
"We're delighted the Alzheimer's Association has chosen the Clocktower as its home," Weiser said after the breakfast. "The services they promote to the community are important for every family, and having them in Chelsea will make them even more accessible to the citizens of this city."
Bob Pierce, executive director of the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce, was at the breakfast. "It's exciting to see a prestigious national organization moving to the Clocktower complex and having Chelsea as its base of operations," he said.
Janice and Todd Ortbring of Edgar Norman Creative USA are also enthusiastic to welcome new neighbors.
"It's an honor to have the Alzheimer's Association locating in Chelsea, bringing a staff of highly trained professionals to our business and maybe even residential communities," said Janice Ortbring. "We're excited to have new business neighbors in the Clocktower Courtyard. I know it will be an inviting atmosphere for employees and clients alike."
With offices in Kalamazoo, Lansing and Muskegon, Longley and her Chapter serve 23 Michigan counties and an estimated 44,000 individuals with Alzheimer's disease.
"Alzheimer's is a looming health care crisis, and may be the epidemic of the 21st century," Longley said. "It impacts five million Americans, and my bet is that somebody close to you will develop Alzheimer's. Every 71 seconds, someone in America develops the disease. As we age, the number grows each day.
"Providing support - education, 24/7 Helpline, support groups and outreach programs - is certainly a yeoman's task."
With the current economy and resources, the Chapter is only able to help two out of every 10 people who need help, Longley said.
"Donor investors give us hope and give us help," she said.
"We're determined not to lower services, and so we've started partnering and collaborating with businesses."
The Breakfast of Champions, for which General Mills donated 500 boxes of Wheaties, was about honoring these partnerships.
Other "Champions" honored were Dick and Norma Sarns, and Steve Sarns, from NuStep Inc. The company has been a huge supporter of the Chapter for several years, underwrote the "Maintain Your Brain" program promoting a healthy lifestyle, and donated $25,000 at the Feb. 22 "Summer Somewhere - Daytona Beach 08" fund-raiser in Ann Arbor.
At that event, several race cars were on display and racing memorabilia was up for auction. Following the fund-raiser, Longley received calls from several race car drivers wanting to get involved with the Association. Jon Cisler and Rob Persad from the National Auto Sport Association, who now bear the Alzheimer's Association logo on their race cars, were honored as "Champions" at the breakfast.
"Our other Champions are those in need of help, and their caregivers," said Longley, whose own mother died of Alzheimer's disease.
"Alzheimer's steals memories, steals the person we knew, and steals the memorable moments we anticipated spending with our loved ones. Please help us to continue to provide help to those who need our services."
For more information or to donate, call 677-3081 or visit www.alz.org/mglc.
Sheila Pursglove is a freelance writer. She can bereached at bingley51@yahoo.com.
The legacy of a smile
Lauretta Codrington, an Ann Arbor resident whose family received help and support from the Alzheimer's Association Michigan Great Lakes Chapter, was a guest speaker at Tuesday's "Breakfast of Champions."
Codrington spoke movingly of her mother Josephine, a Detroit native who raised six children single-handedly after a divorce, working as a teacher, a janitor and at Kresge. An enthusiastic member of her neighborhood travel club, Josephine looked forward to traveling in her retirement.
But that never happened.
Her children began to notice changes in their mother's behavior.
"I noticed Mama began to smile less, and the light in her eyes went out," Codrington said. "She lost interest in playing cards, and visiting friends, and wouldn't pay her bills."
Realizing her mother was suffering from dementia, Codrington contacted the Alzheimer's Association Michigan Great Lakes Chapter, where the family received support and resources until Josephine's death last March.
"She gave us the legacy of her smile," Codrington said, as breakfast attendees watched images of Josephine on a screen. Many fought back tears as they recognized their own family challenges in Codrington's story.
A shared story
The second guest speaker was Saline resident Elizabeth Caswell, daughter of McKinley Associates founder Ron Weiser.
Caswell spoke of "Shades of Grace," a novel by Barbara Delinsky about a family coping with Alzheimer's.
"The book and my life are everyone's shared story," Caswell said. "Grief, denial, anger, sadness, the feeling of being overwhelmed and alone - we all share them.
"In the novel, the family received help. My family was similarly blessed."
Caswell spoke of working with staff at a California adult day care for seniors with dementia, and taking part in a Memory Walk on the cliffs at Santa Cruz. "Little did I know my family would soon be benefiting from the Alzheimer's Association ourselves," she said.
Caswell's beloved grandmother had been a stage actress - "A champagne and chocolate kid," she said, as images of Nonnie appeared on the screen. "There was lots of singing and dancing in her home."
Then the family started to notice confusion, and Nonnie began not paying bills or taking her medication.
"I feel guilty about my anger and lack of understanding," Caswell said, as breakfast attendees nodded in recognition.
This once-beautiful woman became locked inside herself, and had to move into a facility, Caswell said. When Caswell visited with her toddler son, who banged away on a piano, Nonnie sat in a wheelchair, no longer able to dance, sing or take part.
"The care team was simply amazing," Caswell said. "Nonnie died without pain and with as much dignity as dementia allows you."
Caswell, who became a Creative Memories consultant helping people to create scrapbooks of their loved ones, suffered the blow from Alzheimer's a second time when her stepfather Jack developed dementia at the age of 60.
"The amazing staff at the Great Lakes Chapter helped us cope, and when Jack died last August, Liz Longley and her staff were there to support and help us," she said. "They gave us support, compassion, help, counseling as we faced life-changing decisions.
"My family story is everyone's story. It's my hope that other families will be able to receive help and support, and it's wonderful to be in a room with people with such big hearts."
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