This is where you come in. We need your help selecting our beneficiary. The COPD Foundation will pick a winner based on your votes to award our 2011 Community Champion.
Here are the nominees:
Nick Jones
Diagnosed in 1996, Nick Jones has since organized fundraisers, won numerous awards, and formed a large support group of COPD patients in Florida called the Airheads. He currently resides in The Villages, FL with his wife Janet. Together, they teach monthly breathing and exercise classes based on their knowledge of martial arts. Jones has served on the Central Florida Board and chaired the Tri-County Board of Better Breathers Clubs and has helped spread the word about Trans-Tracheal Oxygen Therapy (TTO). Nick will be a featured speaker at the American Association of Respiratory Care International Congress in Tampa, FL in November, 2011.
Lori Palermo
In 2003, Lori Palermo lost her best friend and hero when her father, Wayne A. Litzenberger succumbed to COPD. As a result, Palermo decided to learn everything about COPD. She volunteers for the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania and chaired a “Breath of Life” Walk. Palermo has organized many fundraising walks in Pennsylvania and has received awards for volunteerism. In 2007, she launched LoveYourLungs.com which serves as an educational resource dedicated to her father. Palermo’s latest endeavor is her petition to use her COPD awareness ribbon as a new postage stamp design.
Martin M. Shenkman and Patti S. Klein
Driving cross-country in an Airstream RV with his wife Patti S. Klein and dog Elvis by his side, Martin Shenkman teaches financial professionals and the general public how to manage finances while coping with chronic disease. Shenkman first became interested in this topic when Klein was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1996. His upcoming projects involving COPD include articles in Estate Planning Magazine and a book titled, Estate and Financial Planning for Those Living with COPD to be published by Demos Health. In October, Shenkman hosted a webinar titled, “Estate and Financial Planning for People Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).” You can learn more about their journey at: www.rvforthecause.org.
Edna Fiore
Edna Fiore’s involvement with COPD began in 1995. She began to participate in pulmonary rehabilitation programs and research studies throughout the Denver, Colorado area. She is the State Leader for Colorado and is on the executive board for EFFORTS, the Emphysema Foundation for Our Right to Survive. She is a founding member of the Colorado COPD connection and an AARC Pact member, and serves as a secretary of the Colorado COPD Connection. Edna works on monthly newsletter, and plans the annual Moving Mountains Lung Health Conference. Currently, Fiore’s priority is H.R. 941, the Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative, and the introduction of a companion bill in the Senate.
You can vote by sending an email to: copdchamp@copdfoundation.org, or by calling (866) 316-COPD(2673)
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