MDA Southern Wisconsin, Harley-Davidson Rev Up to Raise $1M at Black-N-Blue Ball

by Margarida Azevedo, MSc | May 16, 2016

MDA Southern Wisconsin, together with presenting sponsor Harley-Davidson Motor Company, will host the 23rd Annual Black-N-Blue Ball charitable gala in Milwaukee on May 20, aiming to raise $1 million for adults and children with muscular dystrophy.

Jann Carl of “Entertainment Tonight” will serve as master of ceremonies. At the event, MDA will present the inaugural Personal Freedom award to Willie G. Davidson, a longtime respected contributor to the organization.

MDA’s newly appointed National Goodwill Ambassador Joe Akmakjian will also attend. Akmakjian, 24, the youngest adult to be appointed to the prestigious ambassador post, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) as an infant and has since doubled his life expectancy — a fact that is attributed to great strides in treatment and care of the disease.

The event, to be held at the Wisconsin Center, will feature live and silent auctions, a raffle for a 2016 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, fine food, live entertainment, and a craft beer and wine pull. In partnership with the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the Black-N-Blue Ball has raised priceless awareness and more than $9 million to help support the work of the MDA and improve the lives of muscular dystrophy patients.

More than 1,300 business representatives and community and civic leaders are expected to attend the ball, where guests are encouraged to wear black leather and blue denim in keeping with the motorcycle theme.

“Every year, the Black-N-Blue ball brings the community together to help raise significant funds that will help MDA provide its families with the critical resources they need to live longer and grow stronger,” said event chairman Bob Buerger of The PrivateBank, in a press release. “Last year we netted just over $915,000, and with increased sponsorship support and hundreds of one-of-a-kind auction items and exclusive experiences, we feel confident that this will be the year that we raise $1 million.”

For tickets and other event information, click on this link.

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About the Author

Margarida Azevedo, MSc Margarida graduated with a BS in Health Sciences from the University of Lisbon and a MSc in Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST-UL). She worked as a molecular biologist research associate at a Cambridge UK-based biotech company that discovers and develops therapeutic, fully human monoclonal antibodies.