Ranch & Coast Magazine

be a treatment plan," he says. "With ALS, the doctor told me I have two to five years, so, 'You might want to get your affairs in order, and enjoy your life.' So, you're kind of left to do all this yourself." Ultimately though, Todd and his wife, Betsy, found the ALS Association Greater San Diego Chapter. e association was a "blessing," according to Betsy, providing essential support as the Witts addressed Todd's needs, both emotional and physical. Joining the association's annual Walk to Defeat ALS last October also created an ideal way to share the news of Todd's diagnosis as well as a means to positively channel their energy toward the fight ahead. "I feel like it gave our friends and family a way to feel like they were helping, which was nice, and really, it helped our family boost our spirits and buoyed us and got us out of this kind of wallowing in a funk," Betsy remembers. "It gave us a purpose and a direction. at day of the walk, it was the best medicine we could have ever had in the beginning." e Witts didn't just participate in the walk, they crushed it. ey created the Witt Wolfpack, a fundraising team of family and friends, about two weeks before the walk, complete with their own catchphrase: "Let's Do Witt." A $10,000 initial goal resulted in $96,000 raised — the second largest team donation in the country. Todd's father, former owner of the luxury Witt Lincoln dealership Ed Witt, is determined to be first, not second, in 2022. "We're already working on this year's campaign," he says, resolute. Steve Bevcar, Executive Director of the ALS Association here, says it was a partnership that benefitted both sides. When the Witt Wolfpack brought their energy to the walk, says Bevcar, "Our staff was amazed. ey gave a supercharge to our chapter, saying, 'We're in this fight. We're with you,' and quite frankly, that lit us up and helped our chapter have a little extra skip in our steps." It also put a hefty amount of funding in the budget for the ALS Association Greater San Diego Chapter. All donations remain with the local chapter, serving the association's mission to research ALS in pursuit of treatments and a cure, plus advocacy and care services for those impacted by ALS in our region. "e difficult reality is it takes a lot of time and it takes a lot of money, and I will say from my perspective, and I work in a lot of different disease areas, unfortunately, ALS is possibly one of the most complex or enigmatic diseases that I'm even aware of," says Eugene Brandon, PhD, Chief Development Officer at BrainXell erapeutics and a member of the association's Board of Trustees. "Every day we're urgent about trying to figure this out, and all the scientists who are working on it [have] the same mentality." On May 18, the ALS Association will host its 7th Annual ALS Fiesta at the Valley View Casino & Hotel. e event will include cocktails and hors d'oeuvres served during a silent auction, followed by dinner and a program featuring the national ALS Association president, Calaneet Balas. e evening will celebrate the sports world's contributions to ALS advocacy. Fittingly, longtime Padres broadcaster Ted Leitner will serve as emcee. "Without the ALS Association, I don't know where we'd go," says Ed. "is is really an important fight, and we can do it right here. We're just all in." alsasd.org To learn more or donate to the Witt Wolfpack, use your smartphone to scan this code: The "Witt Wolfpack" generated the second-highest donation total in the country in the 2021 Walk to Defeat ALS ranchandcoast.com @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE MAY 2022 39

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