Fitness Pioneer, Wife to Co-Chair MDA's ALS Division

TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 2, 2005 — Augustine (Augie) and Lynne Nieto of Corona del Mar, Calif., have been named 2006 co-chairpersons of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s ALS Division.

The couple will help raise awareness of MDA’s worldwide leadership in the battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) through media interviews, public appearances, speaking engagements and public service announcements.

ALS destroys the nerve cells controlling muscles in healthy adults, ultimately causing complete paralysis while leaving mental function intact. Survival is typically two to five years after diagnosis, and no cure exists.

Augie Nieto, 47, received a diagnosis of ALS in March. The neuromuscular disease has affected his upper body strength and speech.

Nieto is the co-founder and former president of Life Fitness. In January, he bought the Octane Fitness Company and is company chairman. Based in Andover, Minn., Octane designs and distributes elliptical cross-trainers.

Nieto recently was elected to a one-year term as an MDA national vice president.

In September, he received the fitness industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association at the National Fitness Trade Show. He transformed the Las Vegas dinner and reception into a benefit for MDA’s ALS Division, raising more than $1 million.

The Nietos have been married for 10 years. Augie Nieto has four children, ages 16 through 22.

As co-chairs of the ALS Division, the couple’s mission will be to communicate to the public the urgent need for a cure for ALS, and to urge donations to support MDA’s scientific effort to eradicate the disease. They also will help other families cope with the disease’s many challenges.

“We’re thrilled and honored to be working with MDA as the co-chairs for the ALS Division,” Augie Nieto said. “We are going to help put a face on this disease, share crucial information about ALS, help empower others dealing with this disease, raise public awareness and raise money for research in a fast-track format.

“MDA funds the best ALS researchers at the finest facilities in the country. We have to find out what causes this disease before we can find ways to slow it down, stop it and eventually reverse it. MDA certainly has all the people in place to get this done,” Nieto added.

Nieto said his priority is to support MDA’s efforts to further speed ALS research since the progressive and fatal nature of the disease makes time a paramount concern. Nieto is working with the Association to fast-track research by increasing collaboration and communication among MDA-funded scientists and doctors searching for the cause and cure of ALS.

Also, Nieto has established “Augie’s Quest…Cure ALS Research Fund” to ensure the necessary funding for the most urgent ALS research. For more information, please visit www.augiesquest.org.

The Nietos succeed Christopher and Reda Rice, a Houston couple who held the post in 2004 and 2005.

“Augie and Lynne Nieto are dedicated to focusing worldwide attention on this devastating disease, and I’m confident they’ll convey a powerful message about MDA’s research and services for people affected by ALS,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said.

“Undoubtedly, their determination and energy will strengthen MDA’s ongoing quest for a cure.”

MDA has been vitally active in ALS research and services for more than 50 years, and has invested more than $170 million in its unmatched ALS program to date.

MDA’s ALS program includes grants to leading researchers worldwide, and medical care at 240 hospital-affiliated MDA clinics and 37 MDA/ALS research and clinical centers across the country. People with more than 40 other neuromuscular diseases also are treated at MDA clinics.

The voluntary health agency also assists people with ALS through help with the purchase and repair of wheelchairs, purchase of augmentative alternative communication devices, support groups, expert-led seminars, an ALS Web site (www.als-mda.org) and ALS-specific chat groups (www.mda.org/chat).

MDA programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.

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