Editorial
Front Page - Friday, September 3, 2010
American Lung Association invites participation in Boardwalk Bash
David Laprad
Shirley Cudabac is the development director of the American Lung Association in Tennessee. The ALA is currently gearing up for its 2010 Boardwalk Bash, a fundraiser to be held Oct. 2, at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
- David Laprad
Couched in simple words, the mission of the American Lung Association is anything but easy:
“We will breathe easier when the air in every American community is clean and healthy. We will breathe easier when people are free from the addictive grip of tobacco and the debilitating effects of lung disease. We will breathe easier when the air in our public spaces and workplaces is clear of secondhand smoke. We will breathe easier when children no longer battle airborne poisons or fear an asthma attack.
“Until then, we are fighting for air.”
Fighting for air isn’t easy, as the statistics reveal: Asthma affects more than 22 million Americans, and the disease cuts nearly 4,000 lives short every year. Tobacco-related diseases kill 438,000 Americans annually. Lung cancer alone caused over 160,000 deaths in 2007, and doctors diagnosed over 213,000 new cases. Finally, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, also known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is the fourth leading cause of death in America.
No age group is immune from lung disease. Asthma is the No. 1 chronic disease in children, and every day, nearly 4,000 adolescents start smoking, according to ALA literature.
“Big tobacco spends billions of dollars each year to lure kids to smoke,” the materials say.
The numbers are staggering, but that won’t stop the ALA, which has been preventing lung disease and improving the quality of life through research, education and advocacy since 1904.
To continue the fight, the association needs support. In an effort to raise funds for its programs, the Tennessee chapter of the association is inviting local companies and individuals to attend its Boardwalk Bash, to be held Oct. 2 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The event is scheduled to begin in Event Hall C at 7 p.m.
The first part of the evening will include cocktails, a silent auction and games. Dinner, the main program and a live auction will get underway at 8 p.m. The meal will consist of low country boil, a one-pot meal made up of sausage, shrimp, crab, potatoes and corn. Shirley Cudabac, development director of the Tennessee ALA, says the dish is “wonderful.” While the ALA at press time was still compiling the list of items to be auctioned off, the pubic sale will include a car donated by Brad Cobb and a portrait to be painted in New York City.
“We have a lot of great items coming in, but we need more,” Cudabac says.
Then, at 9:30 p.m., “The Embers,” a beach music band from Raleigh, N.C., will take the stage to perform a variety of classics as well as current and original material.
Cudabac says people should dress “resort casual” in keeping with the theme of the evening.
“You can come in a Bermuda shirt, shorts and sandals, but not a bikini! We need everyone to be dressed,” she says.
The evening will be a special time for the family of Dr. Charles Harold Alper, the late ear, nose and throat physician who practiced medicine in Chattanooga from 1947 to 2005. A devoted husband, father and leader in the Chattanooga medical community, Alper died of lung cancer in 2006.
Cudabac says the ALA wanted to honor Alper for his efforts to convince people to stop smoking.
“Even though he was a smoker, he was telling his patients to stop smoking. So he quit in the ‘80s, on the day of the Great American Smokeout,” she says.
Alper’s wife, Maxine, and other members of his family are slated to attend the Boardwalk Bash.
“He helped many people in this community, so it will be our pleasure to honor him,” Cudabac says.
Tickets to the Boardwalk Bash are currently $75 per individual. On October, the price per person will go up to $100. In addition, the ALA is offering several sponsorship packages, from “Patron Couple” all the way up to “Official Entertainment Sponsor.” According to ALA literature, 80 cents of every dollar will go to programs, services, research, advocacy and public health education. The other 20 cents will go to fundraising and administration.
“With lung disease on the rise, we are fighting for research that will find a cure for tomorrow. We are fighting for those who can’t quit smoking and those who shouldn’t start. We are fighting for lungs that burn from exercise rather than ozone. We are fighting for asthma education to stop children from dying from asthma attacks. We are fighting for laws that improve air quality both inside and out. And your support will help,” she says.
To donate items to the auctions or to inquire about the sponsorship packages, call the Tennessee ALA at 423-629-1098. For more information about lung disease and the ALA’s efforts to end it, visit www.alatn.org.
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