WISCONSIN MAN RECEIVES ROBERT ROSS MDA NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 3, 2007 – Michael Neufeldt of New Berlin, Wis., has been named the recipient of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 2008 Robert Ross National Personal Achievement Award.

The award will be announced during the national broadcast of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

Initiated in 1992, the national awards are part of MDA’s program for recognizing the achievements and community service of people across the nation who are affected by neuromuscular diseases.

This year the awards were renamed in honor of Robert Ross, MDA’s longtime chief executive, who died in June 2006. For more than four decades, Ross coordinated MDA activities related to fund raising, publicity, medical and humanitarian services, disability policies and research. Ross created the Personal Achievement Award program to educate the public that disability is no obstacle to accomplishment.

“When I first met Mike over 20 years ago, I knew he had something special to offer the world … and I was right,” said MDA National Chairman Jerry Lewis. “It’s very special – and appropriate – that he be named the national personal achievement award recipient in the inaugural year that the award is named in honor of our friend Bob, who loved Mike and his family.”

Neufeldt, 29, was chosen for the honor among recipients of MDA state achievement awards. An author, Web designer and TV personality, Neufeldt has attained personal and professional success with unflagging determination and an indomitable spirit. He’s served as a leader and a role model for people with disabilities along the way.

“It’s truly an honor for MDA to present this award to Mike Neufeldt,” MDA President & CEO Gerald C. Weinberg said.

“Not only is he richly deserving of the recognition for his academic and professional achievements, and the inspiration he provides to so many, but he was also a dear friend of the late Bob Ross. Bob thought the world of Mike, and I know he’d be pleased with Mike’s selection for the award that now bears Bob’s name.”

Neufeldt works in interactive communications for the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. in Milwaukee, assisting in the setup and training associated with various online dealer programs.

With Tom Pipines of Milwaukee’s FOX 6 Sports, Neufeldt co-authored a book, Tales from the Marquette Hardwood (2005), which looks at memorable moments in the history of men’s basketball at Marquette University.

Neufeldt was named a Burke Scholar at Marquette and graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. In 2006, he received the James T. Tiedge Memorial Award, given to former students of Marquette’s College of Communication for professional excellence consistent with the values of ethical behavior and social responsibility taught and lived by the late professor.

In 1979, Neufeldt received a diagnosis of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD), a genetic degenerative disease that causes weakness and wasting of voluntary muscles and cardiac complications. He uses noninvasive ventilation to assist his breathing and a power wheelchair for mobility.

Neufeldt has been an MDA leader since childhood. He served as the Southeastern Wisconsin Goodwill Ambassador for MDA in 1985 and 1986, and was named the 1987 and 1988 MDA National Goodwill Ambassador. He traveled the country with his family, speaking about the Association’s programs of help and hope. Neufeldt met President Reagan in the Oval Office, filmed public service announcements, and appeared three times on the national broadcast of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

At ease in front of the camera, Neufeldt has co-hosted the local broadcast of the MDA Telethon on WDJT, Channel 58, since 1998. He also serves on MDA’s National Task Force on Public Awareness, on which he’s a member of the steering committee.

The scope of Neufeldt’s dedication to raising awareness of disability issues extends beyond MDA, however. At Marquette, he coordinated large groups of students interested in assisting people with disibilities, matching the students with agencies through which they could work as volunteers. He also tutored children with learning disabilities and worked as a teacher’s aide in a summer school program for underachieving students.

Neufeldt serves on the Accessibility/Disability Advisory Committee for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, where he spoke at a hospital conference for teens with disabilities about high school activities and adjustments to college. Most recently, he worked with Young Professional Milwaukee and Independence First groups to promote National Disability Awareness Day, an event in which community leaders spent a day in wheelchairs in order to experience firsthand the obstacles faced by those with disabilities.

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. MDA maintains clinics for Milwaukee area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital.

Originating from the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the MDA Telethon will begin at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 2, and run for 21½ hours. The Telethon reaches more than 40 million viewers via 190 “Love Network” stations nationwide and is available to millions more worldwide on the Internet at www.mda.org.