HILTON HEAD WOMAN NAMED
MDA CHAIRMAN

Tucson, Ariz. August 3, 2005 — Lois R. West of Hilton Head Island, S.C., has been elected chairman of the Board of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

During MDA's recent annual meeting in Los Angeles, West was named to a one-year term as the leader of the Board of Directors of the voluntary health organization. The Board oversees MDA’s programs in its quest to conquer neuromuscular diseases.

West is a former first lady of South Carolina, the wife of the late John C. West. Long a vigorous advocate on behalf of children and adults with disabilities, she’s served on MDA’s Board for 30 years, most recently as the chairman of the Executive Committee.

She also has served as the Association's secretary, and as its president from 1991 to 1995.

“MDA deeply appreciates Lois West’s strong leadership skills, and her commitment to MDA since the mid-1960s when she volunteered at our MDA summer camps in South Carolina,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “Her contributions are vital to the Association’s progress in finding treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy and other muscle-wasting diseases.”

MDA is working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains 240 clinics nationwide, including clinics at Candler Hospital in Savannah, Ga., and Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon will be broadcast Sept. 4-5, originating from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., and can be seen on WSAV-TV, Channel 3, in Savannah, and on WCSC-TV, Channel 5, in Charleston.

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