On Sunday, May 1, on what appeared to be one of the most beautiful days of the year so far, the offices of Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology hosted their annual Zwanger-Pesiri MS Walk for A Cure at parking field 5 of Jones Beach.
Local talent was available to lend their support. The Hicksville JV Softball Team, coached by Danielle Sekesan, walked along with Team Zamboni. Team Zamboni is the team of Patricia Servidio, a Hicksville resident who was diagnosed with the disease in May of 2007. Patricia’s daughter, Brianna, is the captain of the JV Softball Team and the co-captain of Team Zamboni, as well as the designer of the buttons that Team Zamboni members will be receiving for their donations, time and support.
With the help of Coach Sekesan, the JV team had a “tie-dyeing party” the day before, and wore their creations proudly in the bright May sunshine. “Go, Team Zamboni!” and “Yeah, Buddy!” were the rally cries of the day. There were several other Hicksville High School students, as well as a Hicksville Middle School student, who joined in the walk with Brianna. Family and friends, as well as the team’s title creator, Nick Servidio (Patricia’s husband) also joined the team, and the team raised over $700 towards MS awareness and the fight for a cure. Patricia and Brianna have walked in two previous walks, and hope that in 2012, Team Zamboni will be so large that parking field 6 will be dedicated to their team alone!
Informational booths were set up along the grassy area behind the parking field; some of the sponsors who were available for the event were Pure Protein, 21 Toppings, Dayton & Sydney, EMD Serono, Sterling National Mortgage Company and WBAB, to name a few. Starbucks was readily available to all participants; baristas were offering free coffee, tea, and decaf to all those who were still warming up to the brisk ocean breezes. A VIP booth was set up off to the side, for those individuals and teams who raised $1,000 or more in the previous walk. The local band, RVO, supplied music graciously. Even the Geico gecko made his presence known!
Volunteers, clad in blue or bright orange (orange being the color of MS awareness), scurried about, helping participants to register and to keep the entire event running smoothly.
The Town of Oyster Bay shell was set up and Senator Charles Schumer said some kind words of support before the orange ribbon was cut, and what appeared to be over 5,000 participants began the 3.8-mile walk along the boardwalk for a cure for MS.
MS is a silent disease, with invisible symptoms. If you are interested in learning more, or in donating towards the eradication of this disease and the furthering of awareness, please visit www.nmssli.org, or call the society directly at 740-7227, or in Suffolk County, please call (631) 864-8337.
