SOUTH CAROLINA TEEN CONTINUES IN NATIONAL ROLE FOR MDA

TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 22, 2006 – For Luke Christie, 13, serving a second term as National Goodwill Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in 2007 will be an experience twice as nice.

Luke, from Due West, S.C., has spent 2006 speaking to groups across the country, giving media interviews, and attending MDA sponsor and volunteer events to help raise awareness of MDA’s efforts to defeat neuromuscular diseases. In public appearances, Luke and his family represent the tens of thousands of families served by MDA.

This year, the articulate youngster teamed up with MDA National Youth Chairman and award-winning singer Billy Gilman to deliver MDA’s message at MDA sponsor gatherings, such as the ERA International Business Conference in San Francisco. The Christie family traveled to a dozen cities this year and was also featured on the 2005 and 2006 broadcasts of the MDA Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

“Luke is full of energy and lights up the room every time I see him,” MDA National Chairman Jerry Lewis said. “He and his family are a great asset in MDA’s fight against neuromuscular diseases. His continued efforts next year will help bring further attention to our lifesaving work.”

Luke is the son of Brad and Gloria Christie and has two older brothers, Parker, 19, and Spencer, 16. Brad is an English professor at Erskine College and Seminary, and Gloria is a certified dental assistant.

Luke has type 2 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a progressive neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the arms, legs and torso. He uses a power wheelchair for mobility.

Never too shy to speak in front of crowds, Luke hopes to one day be a novelist, journalist or pastor.

“It’s been an incredible year for me as National Goodwill Ambassador,” Luke said during the 2006 MDA Telethon. “In traveling the country, I have been very interested in visiting different corporate sponsors of MDA. I have met many wonderful people who have heart.”

Luke is an eighth-grade honor student at Dixie High School. An active Boy Scout, he also enjoys reading, writing stories, listening to country music and swimming.

MDA-funded scientists are testing potential SMA treatments, while MDA clinics provide medical management for children and adults affected by the disease. Luke receives services at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, site of one of MDA’s 225 hospital-affiliated clinics nationwide.

MDA is a national 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.