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ABOUT DAVID MCKANNAN
David was born April 15, 1955 and finished his race on September 7, 2012 at the age of 57 from ALS.
David started his running career at Mt. Gap Jr. High School and then continued to run for Grissom High School when the school first opened.
David was a member of the 1972 State Cross Country Championship Team his senior year and in 1973 he was Indoor and Outdoor, 4A, 2-Mile State Champion. Both of these championships’ broke records.
David received a track and field scholarship from Auburn University where he was team captain of the Track and Cross Country Teams. Among his many accomplishments David was ALL-SEC in Indoor and Outdoor Track and Cross Country.
After graduation from Auburn, David continued to run and became a TFA/USA All-American in the 10,000m.
David McKannan was an inductee into The Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 for Track.
David always had a strong faith in God and was always willing to share this as one of the reasons for his success and what helped him through the rough times at the end.
David was a loving father who enjoyed coaching his children’s sports teams and mentoring younger athletes. David was always supportive of his nieces and nephews in their endeavors.
David McKannan was diagnosed with Progressive Bulbar Palsy, a form of ALS, in December of 2008. David fought a good and valent fight for 4 years and was a great advocate for ALS. We started these walk/runs in 2009 to raise money for ALS research and to help patients and their families with much needed resources and equipment.
Since his diagnosis, David had worked tirelessly to promote ALS awareness and raise money for research in hopes of finding a cure," Stuart Obermann said. "His insight as an ALS patient provided a valuable perspective to The ALS Association's care services programs."
The disease took away David’s ability to speak and walk, but it certainly didn't stop him. McKannan, who worked at deciBel Research before the disease forced him to retire. He was Alabama's 2010 Ambassador for MDA, on the ALS Association's board and helped other families at monthly support groups. When Apple released the i-Pad, McKannan was one of the first ALS patients to utilize it, consulting with Apple officials on the voice system he and other ALS patients use to communicate.
I need your help. I'm participating in the ALS Association's CEO Soak to raise critical funds and awareness to help fight back against this disease. Inspired by the Ice Bucket Challenge, the CEO Soak engages our corporate, business, and community leaders to GET SOAKED once again for ALS.
People with ALS can go from perfectly healthy to quickly being unable to move, swallow, or breathe. It can strike anyone at any time and there is no cure. The ALS Association is the only national nonprofit organization fighting ALS on every front. Through your gift to the CEO Soak, you help us to continue providing hope and help to those in our community living with ALS and their caregivers, while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.
I am going to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to help the ALS Association make ALS a livable disease, and I'm asking for your help. Please donate to my fundraising page, or better yet, register to be a Soakee alongside of me today in getting soaked once again for ALS.
ABOUT ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of a person with ALS averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis.
ALS can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease, yet it still costs loved ones an average of $250,000 a year to provide the care people living with ALS and their families need. Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS, and every 90 minutes someone dies from it. These facts are why we need you to help make a splash in the fight against ALS today.
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