May 2, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Firefighters to Present Stricken Firefighter with $12 Thousand from Benefit

Shreveport and Bossier City firefighter who held a benefit rodeo this past weekend for Shreveport firefighter Michael Waits, 29, who earlier this year was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, will present a check to the firefighter for twelve-thousand dollars at a 10:00 a.m. ceremony today at the Shreveport Fire Academy, 6440 Greenwood Road. Event organizers, Mike and Steve Dooley, Rodney Roach, Rusty Green, and Bart Little are more than pleased with the results of the fund-raiser that exceeded their expectations. "Our goal, which at the time seemed pretty insurmountable, was to raise ten-thousand," said Steve Dooley. This just goes to show you that people really do care.

Over one-thousand people passed through the gates of the Double R Sports Arena in Stonewall on Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday, to show their support for Waits. All of the gates sales, as well as the fees charged to the rodeo’s participants for the three days were donated. The money is being placed into a trust for Waits to help off-set the cost of the family’s medical bills, and cover expenses for out of town trips to Houston, where he is being treated at the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic at Baylor University.

Waits recently returned to work under light duty provisions of the department and has been assigned to the fire department’s training academy. He and his wife Cara are expecting their first child in January. Unfortunately, the prognosis for individuals with ALS is poor. Waits’ speech and motor function have already been affected. Within two to five years, most of those stricken are almost totally debilitated. There is no known cure.

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