President, George Goodwin, PALS (Ontario, Canada)

Limb onset symptoms in 1989; diagnosed three years later.The disease has progressed very slowly; recently has moved into a power wheelchair and utilizes Dragon Speak Naturally.

One accomplishment most proud of is, bringing the ALS March of Faces program to Canada.  In a little under three years, managed to collect in excess of 600 people from across Canada and have made up in excess of 60 Banners from each of the 10 provinces. 

Website: http://www.alsindependence.com

EMAIL: George Goodwin

Vice President, Ken Patterson, Sr. (Florida)

Diagnosed with ALS in November 2006 after over a year of symptoms and tests. Not long after his diagnosis he resolved to continue being myself, a fighter and loud mouth, instead of doing what so many people with a terminal illness do, crawl in a hole to die. Married with 3 kids. He was working at the Kennedy Space Center as a Safety Engineer responsible for the safety of the police and fire departments. He spent 10 years as a firefighter in Northeast Florida. An avid baseball fan, his favorite team is the Red Sox. He also likes football, the Giants and the Jaguars are my teams. He has a Bachelors degree in Occupational Safety and Health, an Associate’s degree in both Fire Science and Emergency Administration and Management.

Assistant Secretary, Phyllis Van Horn (Ohio)

Primary caregiver for my twin brother Dennis, diagnosed with ALS in 1997 at age 47. My sister Maxine succumbed to the disease in April 2004 at age 65

Assistant Treasurer, Marvin Streich (Canada)

Executive Director/Secretary-Treasurer, Vicki "Terry" Frank (Florida)

Full-time caregiver to  fiancé, Kyle Hahn, (1958-2003) creator of the ALS March of Faces Banner.

Co-founder of the ALS March of Faces, and has served on the board since its inception.

A free-lance graphic artist for twenty years, her background contributes to the organization's ability to maintain and produce the ALS March of Faces Banner and the Community Partner Banners.

EMAIL: Terry Frank

Trustee (Communications), Debbie Tope, PALS (Ohio)

Debbie lives in Baltimore, Ohio with her husband and caregiver Chris. They each have 2 children and have a total of 4 grandchildren. Debbie was diagnosed with limb-onset ALS in August of 1995 but had over a year of symptoms, tests and two spinal cord surgeries before that. Debbie spends much of her time working with her website Focus on ALS which has been her mission since she started it in 1996. She has attended numerous ALS related events over the years the most recent being the ALS Awareness Day at the Ohio Statehouse where she met with State leaders promoting ALS awareness.  

Website: http://www.focusonals.com

EMAIL: Debbie Tope

Trustee (Finance), Chuck Hummer, PALS (Florida)

Diagnosed with ALS, also know as Lou Gehrig’s Disease in October 2004.

He was the Chief, Dredging Division for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, D. C. a position from which he retired in 1989. As Chief of the Dredging Division, he managed the national dredging program for the United States ports and waterways, including the contract and government dredging in the United States. Mr. Hummer has published extensively in the field of dredging and the environmental aspects of dredging.

He was Assistant Chief of the Dredging Division, Panama Canal Company until 1979. Before that he was the Environmental Control Officer for the Office of the Governor of the former Panama Canal Zone and Oil Pollution Control Officer for the Panama Canal.

He has served on the board of directors of the Panama Canal Society of Florida as Legislative Representative and 2nd Vice President. He was corporate Treasurer of the Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, Inc., an Orlando-based AIDS service organization from 1994 to 1998. He is presently acting as the court appointed qualified representative in litigation for two Polk County communities. From 1994-1997 he was the president of his community's homeowners association. He was the president of the corporation that owns Lake Henry Estates, the adult living community in which he lived from 1994-2001.

He is a 1955 graduate of Balboa High School and received his BS and MS from the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana in 1959 and 1961 respectively.

Trustee, Sheila Tarter PALS (Virginia)

46 years old. Sheila was diagnosed August 12, 2004 with limb onset in her legs. "Hard Times - Living in the Shadows : Calm before the Storm"
written by Sheila Tarter tells the story of the poor Appalachian region of Kentucky, chronicling the life of Sheila and her seven siblings as they experience one tragedy after another. Her book is available through BarnesandNoble.com.

She is active in ALS support chats and forums and her motto is "I try to stay positive and have a good attitude."

EMAIL:Sheila Tarter

Trustee Emeritus, Tom Touchette, Manlius, NY

This is a lifetime position reserved for Persons with ALS. Tom is one of the early crusaders for ALS March of Faces. He was instrumental in taking the Banner from its design stage and promoting it out in the ALS communtity. Tom is the best reason the Banner Program must continue. We all thank Tom for his early role with ALS March of Faces.