We Have the Power to Change Lives

2012-03-27

I had the privilege of attending the Missouri DECA State Conference last week. I am a proud member of Missouri DECA, so I was a thrilled to be in my home state for a conference. Missouri DECA is one of the 22 state associations that have joined The Movement, a special fundraising effort for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and they have been outstanding in implementing this project. MO DECA has 40 chapters that have joined The Movement, which is by far the most of any state. Cara Hartwig, the MO DECA State Reporter, deserves major kudos for all of her hard work to make The Movement extremely successful in Missouri.

At their state conference, Missouri DECA hosted a reception for participants of The Movement. The Executive Director of MDA in Missouri, Ryan Hopper, gave an extremely moving speech at the reception. I would like to share a story from his speech.

Mr. Hopper told us that he recently met a young man, age 22, with muscular dystrophy. The young man talked about how much he enjoyed his experiences at MDA Summer Camp. At one of the summer camps, this young man met three other boys with the same type of muscular dystrophy. They became best friends and stayed in close contact.

A few years after the boys met, one of them passed away. Three of the best friends attended the funeral, sad to see their friend leave them. One year later, another one of the boys passed away. Two of the best friends attended the funeral, sad to see their friend leave them. One year passed, and the third boy passed away. The original young man attended the funeral, sad to see that all of his friends had left him.

The young man told Mr. Hopper about his dream: One day, four boys will meet at MDA Summer Camp, and they will live long lives because a cure for muscular dystrophy has been found.

As DECA members, we have a platform for making this young man’s dream become a reality. MDA is our national charity, and we are their largest student donor. We must leverage our resources, become more passionate about MDA, and diligently work to eliminate muscular dystrophy. Together, we can change the lives of millions.

DECA Wishes,

Micah Melling

Central Region Vice President