The state's ALS Association held its fundraiser kickoff luncheon Jan. 21 at the Capital Hotel. Jim Bailey, representing the presenting sponsor, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, yielded the lectern for most of the hour to a video of a speech Tommy May gave in 2012 called "15 Key Elements for a Successful Career."
May, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Simmons First bank and trustee and chairman at the University of Arkansas, is perhaps the state's most famous person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has not made May reclusive. Far from it. He recently traveled to Memphis to enjoy the Liberty Bowl, and he's hugely responsible for the growth of the association in the state (the first Little Rock Walk to Defeat ALS was just in 2010).
Another walk team, Kip's Krusaders, co-captained by Kip Jackson and his wife, Robin, of Sherwood, attended the luncheon. May, they said, was the first person with ALS who Kip met after his diagnosis, and May remains a role model for him on how to continue to contribute to society during the intractable course of the disease.
The Walk to Defeat ALS in central Arkansas will take place April 2 at the Clinton Presidential Center. Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield has pledged $20,000 for the walk.
High Profile on 01/31/2016