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Embry-Riddle the Top Fund-Raiser in Annual Heart Walk

Embry-Riddle TeamDaytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 4, 2006 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University emerged as the top fund-raiser in the American Heart Association’s 2006 Volusia/Flagler Heart Walk held Friday, Sept. 29, on the oceanfront in Daytona Beach. The annual event raises awareness and funds for heart disease and stroke research and education.

Embry-Riddle’s combined teams of faculty, staff, and students raised $25,513 for the Heart Association. In second place was the Florida Hospital Memorial System with $23,401.

Embry-Riddle was a local sponsor of the event, fielding 355 walkers out of the total of nearly 2,000, and many in the Embry-Riddle community made monetary contributions. More than 40 companies and organizations took part in the walk.

President Kent Sharples of Daytona Beach Community College and President Trudie Kibbe Reed of Bethune-Cookman College will be washing Embry-Riddle President John Johnson’s car after losing a wager that they would beat Embry-Riddle in the amount of money raised. The time and location of the car wash will be publicized later.

Embry-Riddle’s individual winners for the most money raised were:

First Place: AbdulAziz Al-Hajeri
Second Place: James Milson
Third Place: Maj. Michael Schaefer

The Embry-Riddle team winners were:

Eagles Have Heart (AbdulAziz Al-Hajeri’s team)
Army ROTC (Maj. Michael Schaefer’s team)

The university’s team captains were: Michael Schaefer, Kevin Mannix, Sally Richards, Miguel Marmol, Jim Ramsey, Donna Ferrell, Alison Smalling, AbdulAziz Al-Hajeri, Jim Milson, Deborah Warren, Jonathan Bartholomew, Helen LeDonne, Jennifer Hinebaugh, Valerie Burks-Beckton, Salene Richardson, Antara Sharan, Jane Grelecki, Gabe Blanton, David Zivnuska, Scott Haeffelin, Bo Pollett, Erik Woodruff, Tiffany Nickens, Breanne Simkin, Will Hasting, Bryan Lozick, Kelly Laubach, Kathy Pericola, and Melissa Everhardt.

On Thursday, Oct. 5, a reception for faculty, staff, and students will honor all walkers. At the reception, the Embry-Riddle Giving Cup, a traveling trophy, will be awarded to the top Heart Walk team. The Giving Cup is awarded annually in recognition of an outstanding philanthropic effort by an individual or department.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. The university educates more than 32,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through Worldwide campuses at more than 130 centers in the United States and Europe, and through online learning.