Letter from C.A.P.S. Board Member,
Mike Tipps
Greetings from the Capital Area Parkinson’s Society! Congratulations for making it through another red hot Texas summer!! College football has started and that means fall weather is on the horizon!
That also means that the Capital Area Parkinson’s 40th Birthday Celebration is upon us! Please join us in supporting our primary fundraiser of the year. It will be held at the City of Austin Central Public Library at 710 W. Cesar Chavez Street on October 5, 2024 from 7-9:30 p.m. Scroll down for more details. Tickets can be purchased online for $100 each. There will be an open bar at the event. We need your help to make this a financially successful event for CAPS.
This year will be my first time attending the CAPS birthday celebration and I feel privileged to be associated with such a great group of people! I have spent the last 40 years in the Austin commercial real estate industry helping to build a company that loves people and serves its community by serving others. It has been a privilege to serve in the Austin community for these many years. I look forward to my involvement in the Board for many years.
My wife Amy and I are excited to attend the CAPS birthday celebration for our first time and to be involved with CAPS. In February of 2022, I was diagnosed with PD and shortly thereafter approached Vic, the Board Chair at the time, about serving on the Board as my next step in helping others with PD. As we serve and love others in the Parkinson’s community with this disease, we are beginning to see this diagnosis more as a gift and calling. No one asks for this diagnosis and it is a reality check for sure. Moreover, none of us want to be alone in this fight. So we decided to jump in feet first and start serving others in need. Please join in supporting the PD community as we bring hope and caring to those in need.
Please join us for a great night as we celebrate you and and hopefully a cure in our lifetime!
Mike Tipps
CAPS Board Member
October 2024 Schedule of Events
- October 5, 7:00-9:30- Tales of Tribute, Forty Decades of Support
- October 8, 2:00-3:00- Central Austin PWP and Care Partner Support Group
- October 10, 10:00-1:00- Shake Shack South
- October 11, 10:00-1:30- Shake Shack Central w/Vocal therapy
- October 14, 11:30-12:30- NW Austin PWP & Care Partners Support Group
- October 17, 12:00-2:00- Parkinson’s Health Education Meeting-Dr. Faiza Butt
- October 21, 10:00-12:30- Shake Shack Social Lakeway
- October 21, 2:30-3:30- South Austin PWP & Care Partners Support Group
Volunteer News
A couple of months ago I received an email from Gene Holiman, a friendly CAPS member who offered to give talks on his experiences with Parkinson’s Disease. Inspiration struck!! Instead of just offering the usual CAPS basic Parkinson’s Disease education, we could speak to groups about the lived experience of the disease, and best of all relay Gene’s optimistic attitude on life with Parkinson’s. So, if your interested in a basic PD talk that will both educate and entertain, give Christi at call! We are happy to speak to your community group.
Gene Holiman is a retired marketing executive who has now begun an encore career as a writer. In 2018 he noticed that he was beginning to sway more than normal in walking, but since he claims he has been clumsy since childhood, he really did not pay attention.
However, after experiencing a freezing episode one day, he reluctantly visited a neurologist and learned, after all the pertinent tests, that he had Parkinson’s Disease. He resolved then that this would not be the end of his lifestyle or involvements and enthusiasm for serving others. He did understand though, that he now had a New Normal for guidance.
What he will be sharing today is an inspirational, and sometimes humorous, message to encourage everyone with PD to change their focus to WHAT THEY CAN DO, not what they can no longer do. He has kept busy with all his community involvements, his writing, and social activities, though sometimes from different perspectives, i.e. using his walker.
His daily words of inspiration when asked about his situation , are I’M STILL ME….., and YOU ARE STILL YOU. All us Parkies need to change our thinking and view Parkinson’s Disease — not strictly as a DISABILITY a but instead as a DIFFERENT ABILITY challenge.
October Announcements
- A new support group for PWP and their care partners starts in NW Austin at Unity Church of the Hills on second Mondays, 11:30, right after Power for Parkinson’s.
- Through support from the Parkinson’s Foundation, Shake Shack Social South started on August 8,10:00 at the AGE of Central Texas South Campus and will be the 2nd Thursday of each month. Come check it out!
- An Austin area resource list is now on the website! Consult it for needs like movement disorder neurologists, therapists, home care, Veterans Info and more!
- CAPS 40th Birthday Party, Tales of Triumph, 4 Decades of Support, October 5, 2024. See our webpage with details for questions. Know of a business or individual interested in sponsoring or donating to this dynamic event? Please contact Christi at [email protected].
And in other News……
The PMD Alliance is holding a Summit in Austin November!
NOVEMBER 20-21 • AUSTIN, TX
2024 Theme: Reframing Support
Explore and celebrate the many forms of community support!
