The 2026 Sedalia Walk to End Alzheimer’s was
Saturday, September 19, and it marked the 29th Walk for Jim’s Team.
The first walk (known as Memory Walk) in 1998 was really small and I can name
everyone who walked that year: Helen and Chuck Hannaford from Slater, Joetta
Coen and Penny Braun (and her dog Victoria) from the Mid-Missouri Chapter. Jim
and I (Jim’s Team) were the only two walkers from Sedalia. We started at
Liberty Park and walked downtown. Helen blew her hunting horn so that we didn’t
go unnoticed.
The Walk has been much larger since then. In 2020,
Walk Everywhere (due to the pandemic) was a smaller walk, but Jim’s Team wasn’t
the only team walking that year. We did walk in the evening and followed the
original walk route through downtown Sedalia. We paused for photos on the steps
of the Sedalia Public Library, and an article in the paper showed a photo of
our Team as we started our walk at Liberty Park. We were the best fundraising
team that year and raised more than $1500.
Since the 1998 Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Jim’s Team
is the only team that has walked in every Sedalia Walk. We’ve been in several
locations over the years: Liberty Park, Missouri State Fairgrounds, Centennial
Park, and our latest venue State Fair Community College.
Each walk has been the same and yet different. I
chaired the committee for the first five years and others have chaired it since
except for the past few years when we didn’t have a designated chair and a
small committee. This year, we didn’t even have a committee or a walk manager.
Anthony Burt, the development director of the Greater Missouri Alzheimer’s
Association stepped in to make the Sedalia Walk a success. He and I visited our
corporate sponsors in one day. From that point on, we were on a roll.
Walk day was a little warmer than usual, but
everything was set up and in place thanks to the Sigma Kappa-Delta Eta crew.
They buzzed around on Don Weaver’s golf carts setting up everything. They set
up a table and moved the boxes from my car to the table. They manned the
registration tables, the MC position, and helped as needed throughout the
event. They also brought in more than $4,000! Up to the walk, Jim’s Team and
Sigma-Kappa were the two best fundraising teams trading places from
time-to-time. Without them, our walk would not have been nearly as successful.
We were in the shade this year and a breeze kept
the day from being too hot. It was a beautiful day to show the support and hope
that we carry to walk each year.
In the 29 years I’ve been involved with the
Alzheimer’s Association, I’ve seen many changes. At one time, everyone thought
dementia only happened in the elderly. Now, people realize that Alzheimer’s and
other dementia can happen at any age. Jim was 49 years old and lived with an
Alzheimer’s type of dementia for ten years, passing away at 59.
I really want my great-grandchildren to grow up in
a world without Alzheimer’s. We hold the hope and promise that the new
treatment that slows the progression of the disease will be the forerunner to a
treatment that will end Alzheimer’s.
Until then, we advocate for a cure, and we Walk to
End Alzheimer’s.
Copyright @ September 2026
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