FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Erin Cooper
301-809-5458 (office)
301-832-8286 (cell)
ecooper@milcorp.com
MIL to serve as presenting sponsor for second year in a row at Cystic Fibrosis event this Saturday
BOWIE, Md.—February 21, 2012—Back in 1997,Harvey and Janet Weiner’s newborn daughter, Melissa, seemed perfect at birth. With a two-and-a –half-year-old son at home, things appeared to be going great—until they realized that their baby was not growing. Three months later, after a series of tests, the couple learned that Melissa had Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and so did her seemingly healthy brother, Matthew.
“Like all parents, we had big dreams for our kids, and this diagnosis was heartbreaking,” Harvey Weiner said. “But we were also determined to put up a fight for our kids.”
CF is a chronic genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems of approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. People with CF carry a defective gene that causes infection and inflammation in the lungs and obstructs the pancreas, leading to serious and life threatening medical issues.
At the time of the Weiner children’s diagnosis, life expectancy averaged only 20 years. Fourteen years later, with Matthew now 17 and Melissa 14, the Weiner family continues their fight against CF. Today, the average life expectancy for someone with CF has doubled to nearly 40 years, thanks to all of those who have continued to fight for a cure.
The Weiner family has certainly been a part of that fight. Harvey Weiner, Senior Assistant Vice President for The MIL Corporation (MIL), and Janet Weiner, an attorney with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, dedicate much of their time to several fundraising boards. The couple has worked with the Metropolitan Washington, DC Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) since their children’s diagnosis to help raise awareness about CF and raise money to find a cure.
“We want our kids to be able to make their own dreams come true, and funding critical research is the key to accomplishing that,” Janet Weiner said. “It is unbelievable just how far we have come in even the last decade! The prognosis for CF patients now is dramatically different than it was in 1997.”
One of the most significant fundraisers for the Weiner family is the CFF’s annual Joker’s Wild Casino Night, as they have served on the event’s committee for the past 13 years. MIL has proudly joined the cause as the event’s presenting sponsor for the second year in a row.
“MIL has an excellent community service program, MIL CARES, which stands for Celebrates, Acknowledges, Responds, Energizes, Strengthens,” Harvey Weiner said. “I know MIL has taken part in numerous community outreach initiatives and I am honored they have taken my very personal cause under their wing. I look forward to sharing the Joker’s Wild Event with my workplace for the second year in a row.”
Now entering its 16th year, the Joker’s Wild Casino night draws several hundred guests and has raised well over a million dollars for the CF Foundation. Guests are invited to enjoying delicious cuisine and an open bar while participating in an array of professional casino games. The night also provides one of the DC area’s largest and most diverse silent and live auctions, music and dancing for all.
“With the Foundation’s leadership, there are more than 30 promising new drugs and therapies in the pipeline and we are closer than ever to a cure, or at least the capability to manage the effects of this disease,” Harvey Weiner said.
Despite bouts of long hospital visits, weeks of IV antibiotics due to complications of the disease, and a daily dose of approximately 30 pills, the Weiner children refuse to let the disease run their lives.
Today, Matthew is a six-foot tall high school junior gearing up for college. He is an honors student, a member of his high school’s varsity crew team and was recently awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. Melissa is a high school freshman who is also an honors student. She is a member of her school’s volleyball team, and like her brother, has joined the crew team. Thanks to the tremendous breakthroughs in treatments for CF since their diagnosis, the Weiner children can participate in this rigorous sport.
To help support the fight for a CF cure and give other kids like Matthew and Melissa the chance to enjoy a happy and healthy life, please join the Weiner family and MIL at the CF Foundation’s annual Joker’s Wild Casino Night. The event will take place on Saturday, February 25, at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia from 7 p.m. until midnight.
For event and registration details, please visit https://metrodc.cff.org/casinonight.
About MIL
The MIL Corporation (MIL), a CMMI® Level 3 certified company established in 1980, provides agencies of the Federal government with outstanding professional services in the areas of financial management, information technology, and C4 engineering. With a staff of nearly 500 professionals, MIL provides innovative solutions to Federal government customers, including the U.S. Departments of the Navy, Commerce, State, and Transportation. MIL continuously seeks to provide solutions that fit the vision, requirements, and resources of our valued customers. For more information, please visit: https://www.milcorp.com