C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S
W I S C O N S I N !

 
We had an AMAZING day at our 5th Annual VisionWalk on Sunday, including our fifth year in a row with perfect weather! 

Our teams and families raised an AMAZING $72,000 so far, and I am still entering A LOT of checks from Sunday. 

We welcomed 890 participants and 53 teams (both RECORDs!) who enjoyed a beautiful day on the lakefront to celebrate their fundraising efforts in support of the Foundation and the critical research it funds. 

You can find the full set of photos from official photographer Amy Erickson at Happy Gnome Photography (go to Client Galleries, then Wisconsin VisionWalk 2013). 

Several other volunteers and Team Captains have sent me hundreds of additional shots (thank you Q, Mike and others) you can access at Shutterfly here. 

It's never too late to donate to the Walk. Let's keep the thermometer rising! Please send any checks to:

Foundation Fighting Blindness
977 Lakeview Parkway, Suite 140
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
Attn.: Wisconsin VisionWalk


THANKS TO OUR WALK COMMITTEE! 

A very special thank you to our Walk Chairs, Nicole Everson and Kelly Savasta; Research Chairs, Dr. David Gamm from the University of Wisconsin - Madison Hospitals and Clinics and Dr. Joseph Carroll, Froedtert Eye Institute and The Medical College of Wisconsin; Emcee Paul Kronforst, Family Chairs Laure and Peter Borchardt; Chapter President Bunny Jordan; Youth Chairs Mayah McWherter and Mackenzie Karbash; and the other members of our STRONG Walk Committee ... Jennifer Emert, Sharon Pfeifer, Bunny Jordan, Amy Lehman, Lisa Chowanec, Chris Czaplewski; Theresa Smith and Nikki Thompson. Your leadership and dedication to the VisionWalk was the driving force behind our success.

T H A N K S   T O   O U R   S P O N S O R S !

We would also like to thank our sponsors: Community Leaders - The University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library; Froedtert Eye Institute and The Medical College of Wisconsin; Vision Forward; Walmart Vision Centers; Regeneron and Music On the Move Plus. Community Partners - Park Bank Foundation; Rivco Products; Commerce State Bank; West Bend Insurance Foundation; and the Steven L. Randall Foundation.  Community Supporters - Peggie & Arol Sherwin, Chippewa Valley Eye Clinic; C&M Properties and Construction; Eye Care Specialists; Eric Barbieri; and Racine Kringle.

Also, a special thank you to the many community sponsors and in-kind donors who made Sunday such a great day for so many. Racine Kringle and Mike Heyer donated a HUGE quantity of delicious Kringles and chips for breakfast and lunch. Our lunch would not be complete without hot dogs donated by Prah and Tina Thull of Kettle Moraine Gardens of Kewaskum, and water from Hale Vision.  Wisconsin Wellness Clinic was giving much-needed massages all day!  And thanks to Amy Erickson from Happy Gnome Photography for her time and expertise as our official photographer.

Special thanks to two participants: As he has done the past four years, Taj Jordan and Music on the Move Plus donated many things for the event, and their staff could not have been more professional and supportive.  Musician and Milwaukee favorite, Eric Barbieri of the Barbeez, donated his time and played some great tunes throughout the day. 

We would like to give special recognition to the Pike Family/Theresa Lions Club, Mike Sroka, Swiatkowski Family, Sussex Leos, South Milwaukee Leos, Wind Lake Lions, and the Emert Family (thank you Matt!) for serving as volunteers extraordinaire.  And finally, a HUGE thank you to all the Team Captains, walkers, and volunteers! Your support, dedication, and energy made the day a true success.

We also want to highlight the top Wisconsin VisionWalk teams and their captains. Congratulations on an amazing performance!

• TEAM RUMOR, Peter Borchardt ($8,300!)
• THE M&Ms, Nora Karbash ($7,700)
• HOOTIE WHOO, Bunny Jordan/Nikki Thompson ($6,900)
• THE EYE INSTITUTE, Diane Bishop ($4,600)
• TEAM SAVASTA, Kelly Savasta ($3,700)

Many individual fundraisers achieved our VisionWalk All Stars Club status by raising more than $1,000 on their own to help their teams achieve such lofty numbers. We want to recognize their EXTRAORDINARY efforts:

Cindy Alioto Dave Borchardt Laure Borchardt Peter Borchardt Lisa Chowanec Dr. Thomas Connor Nicole Everson Liz Grober Martin Hutjens Bunny Jordan Nora Karbash Jeff Karbash Mackenzie Karbash Amy Lehman Kim Prock Cindy Randall Kelly Savasta Theresa Smith Nancy Wolck

We also recognized the Largest Walk Team: THE EYE INSTITUTE pulled out the shocking upset and unseated perennial champ Hootie Whoo with 120 Walkers, a Wisconsin VisionWalk record.  HOOTIE WHOO was in second with 89, followed by TEAM SAVASTA, with their best showing ever at 63.  

THANK YOU for everyone who contributed to this GREAT event!

If you have any questions or want to offer any feedback on the event, contact Steve Sroka at (847) 680-0100 or SSroka@FightBlindness.org.

 S E E   Y O U   N E X T   Y E A R !