RSVP / ORANGE COUNTY : At Founder’s Dinner, Alzheimer’s Assn. Hails the Reagans

Orange County residents sent their thanks to former President Ronald Reagan for increasing the public’s awareness of Alzheimer’s disease at the recent Alzheimer’s Assn. of Orange County’s Annual Founder’s Dinner.

Letters to Reagan from local residents were read aloud to more than 140 guests who attended the Founder’s Club appreciation dinner at the Center Club in Costa Mesa. Ronald and Nancy Reagan, who could not attend, were honored at the dinner, which was held to thank those who have contributed $1,000 or more annually to the local Alzheimer’s Assn.

A President Remembered

Carole Radzins, executive director of the local association, said the founders wanted to honor the Reagans because they have drawn so much attention to Alzheimer’s.

“I remember the day he made the announcement,” Radzins said. “It was on a Saturday in November [1994]. I was driving down from a friend’s house in Los Angeles, and I heard the news on the radio. Monday morning our phones were ringing off the hook, and it hasn’t stopped.”

Reagan’s letter not only made people more aware of Alzheimer’s, she said, but also encouraged those affected by the disease to come forward.

“There’s often some denial in facing this disease. But many people said that if President Reagan can admit he has this, it’s OK for them to admit their mother or husband has it too.”

After a prime rib and salmon dinner, guests watched a movie about the Reagan years. Then Selly Jenny, an association board member, read the letter Reagan wrote last year that drew so much attention to their cause.

“I have recently been told I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s,” he wrote.

One by one, club members stood up to read letters from people responding to the news:

“Just add me to the list of Americans who cried over the morning newspaper,” a Fullerton resident wrote.

“I am heartened by the courageous letter you wrote to the public, and I know that it was a tough thing to do,” a Huntington Beach man wrote.

The Reagans will receive the association’s Rosemary for Remembrance Award, a crystal statue with a sprig of rosemary--the symbol of memory.

Losing a Loved One

Those familiar with Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease, know it is devastating to both patients and their loved ones.

“The person you knew isn’t there anymore,” said Sandra Rados, whose father had Alzheimer’s and whose mother is showing signs of the disease. “You lose them little by little, inch by inch.” She attended the party with her husband, Alex, a member of the association’s advisory council.

Other club members shared similar stories.

“My stepmother has Alzheimer’s,” said Don Power, president-elect and chairman of the Founder’s Club. “She’s living in a nursing home in Omaha and isn’t aware my father passed away three years ago. The disease is that devastating.”

The Alzheimer’s Assn.’s mission is to increase public awareness of the disease, provide support and assistance to patients and families, and support research to find the disease’s cause and cure. Services include support groups, help lines, counseling and in-home respite care.

The Founder’s Club holds several events each year to support the association. This year members contributed $160,000 in cash donations.

“Our club has grown. When we first held our dinner in 1985, we had 35 members. Now there’s more than 200,” Radzins said. “We have to keep growing to keep up with the need.”

About 40,000 people have Alzheimer’s in Orange County. Although the disease primarily strikes the elderly, local residents as young as their mid-30s have been afflicted, Radzins says.

Among the guests were Mark Coffman, Founder’s Club president, and his wife, Debbi; Max Olsan, Mary Patton, Lynda Hill, Richard and Joyce Lowder, Jim and Marilyn Spain, Christopher Veitch, Bob and LaDorna Eichenberg, John and Ramona Hull, Agnes Weiss and Brian and Margaret Donato.