|
 Hurricanes
Frances and Jeanne left their mark on Florida
in a big way in September of 2004! As many of
you may know, our offices on Bradley Place were
devastated. The damage from two hurricanes was
complicated by further damage from subsequent
rain and disruptions in town services. We are
still catching up, and while we regret the loss
of property, we are all grateful that no one was
seriously hurt.
Although hampered by these
severe weather events, CFX continued its work
to find a cure! In late June, CFX was a guest
at the National Fragile X Foundation Conference.
Held biannually, this event provides
one of the best
|
forums
for us to gather our researchers for meaningful
discussions and updates. We did just that at a
luncheon where we were joined by Dr. Flora Katz
of the Fogarty International Institute of the
NIH and Dr. Danuta Krotoski, of the National Institute
for Child Health and Development. In October,
CFX participated for the first time in the annual
Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego.
In collaboration with FRAXA, CFX hosted an informational
booth and an evening event within the five day
conference.
Here in Palm Beach, we recently held our annual
Board of Directors Meeting and immediately after,
held our annual Luncheon. Among our many special
guests was Dr. Steve Kay |
of the
Scripps Research Institute, who told us of Scripps’
plans for fragile X research here in their new
Palm Beach County facility. We hope to develop
research collaborations with Scripps in the near
future.
Certainly, the September hurricanes affected
us all in very real and different ways. We were
unable to get donation reminders out and we know
we missed the end of the year deadline for some.
We hope that in spite of this, you will still
support us. As we work to get our schedule back
on track, please remember to be as generous as
you can. As always, thank you for your continued
support as we move forward. |
 CFX
held its Annual meeting on February 8, 2005 at
the Governor’s Club of West Palm Beach and
immediately following, the foundation held its
annual luncheon. The luncheon is designed not
only to honor our supporters, but to re-energize
and inspire them and to encourage new supporters
to become involved. Guest speakers are from the
research or advocate community and foster discussion
on relevant Fragile X research topic.
Featured at the Feb. 8 meeting was a brief video
about Matthew Hollin, and his family and how they
have created a lifestyle that responds to Matthew’s
needs. The video features other families who are
similarly affected, and who respond admirably
to the daily challenges of living with fragile
X. These families and all those like them are
truly inspirational to us all.
Dr. Steven Kay and his wife, Shelley Halpain,
both of the Scripps Research Institute, joined
the crowd at the luncheon. The Scripps Research
Institute has selected Palm Beach County as the
home of its new East Coast campus. Dr. Kay spoke
about Scripps’ plans to include fragile
X research in its new Jupiter, Florida site. We
are delighted to welcome Scripps to our area and
look forward to working with Dr. Kay and Dr. Halpain
on a fragile X project very soon. Luncheon guests
congratulated Harris Hollin on receiving the support
of the Fragile X Community to be a nominee to
the President’s Commission on Persons with
Intellectual Disabilities. This is an honor Harris
truly deserves. |
