Pilots to host ALS Awareness event @ WSOC game Friday 9/9/11

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Portland Pilots to host ALS Awareness event at women’s soccer game on Friday, September 9

The University of Portland athletics department is hosting an ALS awareness event on Friday, September 9 during the women’s soccer game against Washington at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. Kick-off is at 7 p.m.

Representatives from the ALS Association’s Oregon and SW Washington Chapter will be in attendance, raising awareness about ALS, a deadly illness also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease with no known cause or cure. Later this month, the annual “Walk to Defeat ALS” is set to take place in downtown Portland on Sunday, September 25. It is the Oregon and SW Washington Chapter’s largest fundraiser and provides hands-on support and services local families affected by ALS while also supporting global, cutting-edge research.

Twenty members of the University Singers – UP’s top choral group – under the direction of student conductor Douglas Orofino will sing the National Anthem at the game in honor of Roger O. Doyle, who retired last year after 37 years as music professor and choral conductor on campus. Doyle was diagnosed with ALS in August 2009.

A team of University of Portland community members called “Doyle’s Devotees” is walking at the event in support of the beloved retired professor. Beyond teaching at the University, Doyle founded and conducted music for Mock’s Crest Productions, a popular summer musical theater, as well as leading the Choral Arts Ensemble for 34 years.

Judith R. Montgomery, a music professor at the University of Portland since 1984 and longtime colleague and friend of Doyle, is organizing the team. Those interested in joining the team or donating can visit the links below:

Click here to visit Montgomery's personal page.

Click here to visit the team page for Doyle's Devotees

Portland Pilots men’s basketball assistant coach Joel Sobotka, a founding member of the Oregon and SW Washington Chapter and actively involved in fundraising for the group, is helping to organize the awareness event.

Sobotka has also has a personal page for the “Walk to Defeat ALS.” He will be walking to honor his mother Joyce who passed away from ALS in 1996.

The ALS Association is the only non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front. The association is leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships. The association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.

Please email info@alsa-or.org with questions or for more information.