CULLMAN, Ala. — My mom, Judy Shirey, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) over 20 years ago and I wanted to do a fundraiser in honor of her. Dr. Chris Lagank has always said you need to exercise on a regular basis if you have MS. I have participated in the Walk for MS for several years and I had an idea to do a Swim for MS at the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center (CWAC). I have been swimming at CWAC since it opened and we have some great swimmers that swim there on a daily basis. So, in November 2017 I asked several of them about doing a Swim for MS and they were all on board. We did our first Swim for MS in January 2018 and this year we did it in September because we would have access to swim in the outdoor pool as well.
In 2018 we raised almost $4000 and we met our goal of swimming 500 miles in 31 days in January. This year our goal is $5000 and swim over 500 miles in 30 days.
Our swimmers were:
Alan Weatherly, Arnold Caylor, Betty Payne, Bo Shirey, Bob Moeller, Clark Farley, Fran Edmondson, Frank Preston, Glenn Pilcher, Gordon Blanton, Jeff Taylor, Jerry Welch, Kathy Lee, Michael Thomas, Mike Hall, Robin Hall, Robyn Crawford, Ruth Anne Knight, Fabian Holland, Victor Crawford, Betty Klocek, Bill Schgier, Claire Pilcher, Frank Odell, Philip Murray, Stephanie Johnson, Gay White, Sandy Blake, Wescoat Free and Michael Sullins.
After each swim the swimmer would record their laps in a notebook. I would tally them each week and send out a notice on our pace. The swimmers really enjoyed seeing the results each week and it kept them motivated to keep on swimming and some case increase their normal amounts.
One lap in the pool at the CWAC is 50 yards. It takes 36 laps to swim a mile. Our team swam over 550 miles, 968,000 yards, which is 19,360 laps.
So far, we have raised just over $4000. We need another $1000 to reach our goal. If you want to donate please contact Bo Shirey at bamaboshirey@gmail.com or go to:
50+Mile Club
Arnold Caylor = 78 miles!
Bo Shirey
Bob Moeller
30+ Mile Club
Ruth Anne Knight
Michael Thomas
20+ Mile Club
Robyn Crawford
Jerry Welch
Betty Paye
Clark Farley
10+ Mile Club
Bill Schgier
Robyn Hall
Jeff Taylor
Glenn Pilcher
Frank Odell
Frank Preston
Fran Edmondson
Mike Hall
5+ Mile Club
Gay White
Kathy Lee
Fabian Holland
Michael Sullins
Rob Werner
Sandy Blake
Claire Pilcher
Wescoat Free
Gordon Blanton
Stephanie Johnson
1+ Mile Club
Philip Murray
Alan Weatherly
Victor Crawford
Betty Klocek
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