UP NEXT: THE MACKNEY WARRIORS!

Yours Truly with Rich & some of The Mackney Warriors
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(Tempe, AZ): Good Morning! It is 6:30 a.m. as I write this. Today is the Walk to Defeat ALS and approximately 22 of us will be pushing our Team Captain Rich Mackney in his wheelchair towards a cure. As the designated driver, I can tell you a few things about our team.

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We are a rather spirited bunch. We are relentless in our determination to see Rich victorious over ALS and we are motivated. Rich is not only a tall man at 6 foot, 4 inches. He is a a Giant in terms of his generosity. For those of you happening along this post without having read my previous BLOGS about Rich, we became good friends approximately 18 months ago. Most of us met through an athletic physical rehabilitation program nestled against the backdrop of McDowell Mountain where we had begun work on a variety of athletic-related injuries. We found ourselves among professional and amateur athletes, businessmen and women who were triathletes and cyclists--in short-- a fantastic collection of people from many interesting backgrounds. Rich would make his way around to each person and introduce himself with a smile and firm handshake. He was genuinely interested in who we were, (and I joke with Rich about using The Harvard Business School Planning Triangle ("where we've been, where we are and where it is we want to go" ) in our personal and professional lives. Can you imagine meeting someone who takes that much of an interest in you? Rich is that rare person! His generosity extends also to genuinely caring about helping us reach our individual goals. So, this morning we are collectively interested in helping Rich meet his own goals.

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Rich is among 10 people in the United States undergoing an aggressive, new stem cell treatment plan that is on the cutting edge of technology in replicating the number of motor neuron cells with three objectives:

1. Slow down the progression of ALS this year.
2. Stop the progression next year.
3. Reverse it the following year.

These goals are absolutely achievable and Rich's days are spent researching all aggressive "out of the box" approaches that will position him for the greatest likelihood of success, while keeping his body limber. He has touched so many of our lives and I'll just close with an amusing story . But first, I have to say that the way you knew Rich was around was when you heard good-hearted laughter!

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One day I was pedaling away on a recumbent bike while the Tour de France was playing on two large flat screens mounted near the ceiling of our facility. Rich walked past me to start work on another workout machine and asked me, "Hey Michael, who's winning?" My answer revealed that among the few sports I follow (Bobsled and Formula One) I was a little out of my element. As I looked at the screen to answer Rich, I yelled over, "Some guy named Peloton and he has a 3 minute and 43 second lead ahead of the pack" (Google "Peloton" and you'll see how hysterical my comment was). I don't know how Rich managed to do it, but he kept a straight face and politely told me what a Peloton was. It wasn't the name of a cyclist in the Tour de France, I'll tell you that! Then he asked me to take a look again and tell him the name of the rider. By now, I was laughing so hard at myself, however, I managed to figure out who was leading in that stage of the race and reported this back to Rich who was seated on an exercise machine facing away from the screen. We've had many great times like this, and this morning will be an energetic effort as thousands of people come together in Tempe, Arizona for a terrific cause. Thank You for your many kind messages of support for Rich in your past Blogger Comments and in your personal e-mails to me. To quote Rich, "Together, we can win the fight against ALS!"