IOWA MAN JOINS
MDA NATIONAL ADVISORY GROUP

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 13, 2005 — Rob Roozeboom of Sheldon, Iowa, has accepted an invitation to join the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s National Task Force on Public Awareness for 2005.

Roozeboom, 28, joins 11 other members of the Task Force, an MDA voluntary body which advises the Association on issues of interest to people with disabilities. Task Force members, all of whom are adults affected by neuromuscular diseases in MDA’s program, are leaders in their communities and achievers in fields such as education, communication, law and business.

Roozeboom is founder and president of RISE Ministries, an organization that teaches teens and adults how to overcome adversity in their lives.

“MDA is honored to be represented by such an outstanding individual as Rob Roozeboom,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “He’s a shining example who shows that disability is no match for determination and a positive outlook. MDA will benefit greatly from his experience and viewpoint on issues of interest to people with neuromuscular diseases.”

Roozeboom travels the country giving motivational speeches to a variety of audiences. He speaks from experience, drawing from his own journey through depression, loneliness, substance abuse and ultimately suicidal despair.

Roozeboom also shares his insights on a daily radio program called “Rise Above Radio.” His minute-long segments, designed to motivate and inspire young people, are heard on more than 230 stations worldwide.

He’s also founder and publisher of Impact, a quarterly magazine for teens that relates stories of individuals who are positively reaching their generation.

Roozeboom and his wife, Sharla, have a young son, Jager, and Rob assists his father-in-law with harvesting crops each fall.

The Roozebooms often speak on behalf of MDA and represent the Association at fund-raisers and sponsor events across the country. In 2001 and 2002, he was profiled on the national broadcasts of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on Labor Day weekend.

As a teenager, Roozeboom's hopes of becoming a farmer and an athlete were dashed when he received a diagnosis of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. The progressive disease causes weakness and wasting, initially affecting the shoulder and pelvic girdles.

Roozeboom is ambulatory, but one day may need to use a wheelchair as the disease progresses.

MDA’s Task Force on Public Awareness was organized to promote MDA’s goals and programs, and to provide feedback relating to the needs of those the Association serves. The national group and its local counterparts advise the Association on matters of importance to people with disabilities such as medical care, insurance, independent living, personal assistance services and pertinent legislation.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education.

The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.

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