Bellingham Bells & Lou Gehrig's 75th Anniversary

June 23, 2014

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

July 4th, 2014 marks the 75th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, as he retired due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); the disease which took his life nearly two years later and that bears his name. This historical date strikes home with me in two distinct ways: my connection with a young Bells fan, a namesake of the Ironman who embodies his spirit; and the recent ALS diagnosis of a very dear friend of mine.

Gehrig Dabbs (12 years old) has been an avid Bells fan since I purchased the team nearly four years ago. He carries the name Gehrig as a gift from his parents to further, in his own way, the legacy of the great Yankee slugger. It is the wish of Gehrig and his family to help bring awareness and seek solutions to this dreadful disease that has no known treatment or cure and afflicts thousands in the U.S. every year.

José Cofiño has been an incredibly close friend of mine ever since our paths crossed 27 years ago at Stanford’s business school. While unfairly stricken with ALS, José’s new mission and passion is to show that life with ALS can still be celebrated. Moreover, he is now committed to raise as much money as he can for critical drug research that will one day render ALS a treatable disease... To that end, I wish to issue a call to action...

On July 4th, I invite all of you to come to the Bellingham Bells baseball game to celebrate life. At this ballgame, the Bells will be teaming up with José to help launch his initiative, “Beyond ALS,” by auctioning off special game- day jerseys (sponsored by John Howie and his fabulous SPORT Restaurant & Bar in Seattle) that will be worn by every Bells player and coach. Beyond ALS supports the ALS Therapy Development Institute’s (www.als.net) drug research drive to discover solutions for people with ALS (PALS). Jose’s project can be found at BeyondALS.org and on Facebook at BeyondALS Facebook .

We hope that you will be able to join Gehrig, José and me in Bellingham on July 4th to take part in a very special event that will recognize and celebrate the lives of those who are battling ALS. If you cannot be with us in person, we hope you will visit BeyondALS to learn more about Jose’s vision and to support his and others’ battles with the disease by making a meaningful contribution that will help José in his quest to raise one million dollars for ALS research.

Thank you for your consideration, your friendship and your support,

Eddie Poplawski

BELLINGHAM BASEBALL CLUB, LLC

1221 Potter Street | Bellingham, WA 98229

“ALS is not incurable; it is underfunded” Dr. Stanley Appel