A record total of 640 skaters participated in the seventh annual UNMC Skate-a-thon for Parkinson’s, as the 24-hour skating event concluded at 2 p.m. this afternoon at the UNMC Ice Rink.
This marked the third consecutive year the event has topped 500 skaters, and the first time it has exceeded the 600 mark.
The event is held in memory of event founder Colleen Wuebben, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2005 at the age of 52 and died in 2013 at the age of 60.
Jenny Knutson, daughter of Ted and Colleen Wuebben and one of the event coordinators, said early estimates look very promising, as more than $11,000 were collected at the registration tent alone. She said online proceeds, pledges for skaters, and corporate sponsorships are yet to be processed.
“I know the Creighton Prep hockey team exceeded its $800 goal, and that’s not included in the $11,000 total,” she said.
When the final total is calculated, Knutson said she is confident that the seven skate-a-thons at UNMC will have netted more than $170,000 in proceeds. The total after the 2016 skate-a-thon was more than $155,000.
Major sponsors this year included: Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Masimore, Magnuson, and Associates, P.C., and Heritage Communities.
Other sponsors included: Anderson Auto Care, Anderson Food Shops, Lexus of Omaha, Greg and Lisa Daake, Rochester Armored Car, UNICO Group, and O’Malley Consulting.
Proceeds go toward clinical and basic science Parkinson's research at UNMC as well as Parkinson’s Nebraska, an organization started by the Wuebben family to provide affordable exercise, education and services to improve quality of life for persons with Parkinson's.
“We are just overwhelmed with the response,” Knutson said. “This event just keeps getting bigger and better every year. It’s very encouraging for the future.”
Six skaters – Chris Rush, Mike Schoch, Ronnie Stark, Eric Winner, Abby and Jim Janicki – skated all 24 hours. This marked the fourth consecutive year that Rush has skated all 24 hours. In skating all 24 hours, it is estimated that each of the marathon skaters logged more than 16 miles. In addition, a Parkinson’s patient, Suzanne Arney, participated in the opening ceremonies.
Other highlights from the event included:
·Hockey teams from two Omaha high schools – Creighton Prep and Westside – turned out as well as the Omaha Junior Lancers (JV and varsity) teams;
·For the second straight year, members of the University of Nebraska at Omaha chapter for the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association had a strong turnout of skaters;
·More than 50 volunteers assisted in the skate-a-thon..
UNMC physicians – John Bertoni, M.D., Ph.D., and Howard Gendelman, M.D. – spoke at the opening ceremonies, while Danish Bhatti, M.D., and Ryan Brennan, M.D., spoke at the closing ceremonies.
Aleah Peters, Miss Nebraska 2016, was the emcee for the opening ceremonies and entertained the crowd with a baton-twirling exhibition. Mike Kelly, columnist for the Omaha World-Herald, emceed the closing ceremonies.
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