and Kim Phillips, National MS Society Southern California and Nevada Chapter Board Chair. Shemar Moore at podium and Keith Tisdale of Baby Girl.
Shemar Moore, best known for his role as FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan on the hit CBS show, “Criminal Minds,” was honored at the 40th annual Dinner of Champions, sponsored by and benefiting the National MS Society, Southern California and Nevada Chapter Thursday, Aug. 27 at the Century Plaza Hotel.
The event raised funds that support the National MS Society’s vital programs and services to improve the quality of life for people living with MS, as well as cutting-edge research worldwide for better treatments and a cure.
Moore received the award in recognition of his incredible contributions in helping the National MS Society move closer toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. Moore has been a major supporter and ambassador to the National MS Society for 10 years through the annual Bike MS: Coastal Challenge cycling event in honor of his mother, Marilyn, who lives with MS.
Friends and colleagues from “Criminal Minds,” including Joe Mantegna and Kristen Vangsness. Actor and comedian Anthony Griffith performed at the dinner and Jillian Escoto, radio personality for Los Angeles-based station MyFM, served as master of ceremonies. Both Griffith and Escoto live with MS.
Shemar Moore’s mother, Marilyn Wilson-Moore, was presented with the “Dorothy Corwin Spirit of Life” award for her relentless efforts to bring hope and awareness to people living with MS, like herself. Previous recipients of the Spirit of Life Award include Annette Funicello, Richard Pryor, Alan Osmond, David Lander, Michael Kamen, Teri Garr, and Rep. Henry A. and Janet Waxman. Previous Dinner of Champions honorees have included such distinguished individuals as Jeff Robinov, Sir Howard Stringer, Steven Hilton, Peter Chernin, Joe Roth, Amy Pascal, Jim Gianopulos, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Tom Rothman, Michael Lynton, Rob Moore, Rob Friedman, Greg Dunn, and most recently Pam Kehaly of Anthem Blue Cross.
The Dinner of Champions makes an enormous contribution in the movement to end multiple sclerosis, not only in raising funds for research, programs and services, but also in raising awareness about MS itself. With the continuing commitment of its supporters the Chapter’s Dinner of Champions in Southern California has become the most successful dinner held by any chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Each year, the dinner honors a philanthropist who has made a significant contribution to the movement to end MS. Because of fundraising events such as the Dinner of Champions, the National MS Society is able to support more MS research and offer more services for people with MS than any other MS organization in the world, including educational and wellness programs, professional counseling and support, financial assistance, and more.
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more 2.3 million worldwide.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, established in 1946, supports more MS research, offers more services for people with MS, provides more professional education programs, and furthers more MS advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. The Chapter serves 19,000 people living with MS plus their loved ones in local communities. MS stops people from moving. They exist to make sure it doesn’t.
Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis. Learn more about the National MS Society at nationalMSsociety.org or call 1.800.FIGHT.MS (344.4867).
