‘JERRY’S KID,’ CORONADO SAILOR APPEAR
ON PARADE TELETHON ISSUE COVER
TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 30, 2007 – An 8-year-old with muscular dystrophy from La Jolla, Calif., and his MDA summer camp counselor, a petty officer from Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, will appear on the cover of the Sept. 2 issue of the national weekly magazine Parade.
Brendan Nordholm, son of Kenneth and Rina Nordholm of La Jolla, and Petty Officer 2nd Class O’Casey Keomany are featured in Parade’s annual cover story published on the opening day of the 2007 Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Brendan has congenital muscular dystrophy and uses a power wheelchair. CMD is one of nine forms of muscular dystrophy under MDA’s umbrella, which covers more than 40 neuromuscular diseases.
Keomany, 28, served as Brendan’s volunteer counselor at MDA summer camp at Camp Cuyamaca near San Diego, one of 90 camp sessions MDA holds across the country every year for children with neuromuscular diseases. Summer camp, along with research, clinics, information and much more, are among the MDA programs for which the Telethon will raise funds.
Keomany, an electronics technician from Phoenix, was one of 38 members of the armed forces who volunteered as one-on-one, round-the-clock caregiver/companions for the kids at MDA’s camp in the Cuyamaca Mountains this year.
The Parade story describes the special relationship between counselors and campers at MDA summer camp, and previews the 42nd annual MDA Telethon, which will originate from the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas, beginning at 9 p.m. EDT Sunday. It runs for 21½ hours on 190 MDA “Love Network” stations across the country and also can be seen online at www.mda.org.
A sidebar to the Parade article updates the story of a child featured on the magazine’s cover two decades ago. Mike Neufeldt of New Berlin, Wis., now 29, works in online programs and operations at Harley-Davidson Motor Company in Milwaukee, and has co-authored a book about Marquette University’s basketball program. Affected by Emery-Dreifuss MD, Neufeldt this year received MDA’s first Robert Ross National Personal Achievement Award for his accomplishments.
Parade has featured MDA in Labor Day weekend cover stories for more than two decades. The magazine has some 75 million readers and is distributed by more than 340 Sunday newspapers in the United States.
“Our yearly Telethon features allow us to pay tribute to a great American tradition, in addition to supporting important lifesaving research and services,” said Walter Anderson, chairman and CEO of Parade Publications, and also an MDA national vice president.
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education.
In the San Diego area, the Telethon will be aired on KUSI, Channel 51, beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday.
In the Phoenix area, the Telethon will be aired on KTVK, Channel 3, beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday. |
