Team Fox Professionals of Chicago Present Party Like a Fox!

Hi!  My name is Sam Bettis and I am the chair of the Team Fox Professionals of Chicago. Our group works tirelessly to raise funds to help find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease which affects me personally as my dad has Parkinson’s.

My dad is hilarious.  He’s always looking for an opportunity to tell a joke, make a pun, or tell a funny story.  He has made me laugh an innumerable amount of times in my life.  I’m sure if you talk to my dad he’ll be thinking of the best story to tell you.  I’m helping the Team Fox Professionals of Chicago because Parkinson’s Disease has taken away some of the laughter.

I was a freshman at the University of Illinois in 1996 when my dad was first diagnosed with PD.  My friends thought I was kidding, there’s no way that someone that young could have Parkinson’s.  Fast forward 10 years and I had decided it was time to move back closer to my family and girlfriend (now wife!) to Chicago in 2006.  The first week I was back my dad had deep brain stimulation surgery.  It was grueling for him and after all day in the operating room we finally were able to see him in recovery.  He was already back to his charming self, telling his jokes to anyone that would listen.  I was so glad to see him and to know that I was going to be living so much closer to my amazing role model, my dad.

I wanted to do something to help find a cure for PD.  I knew that his surgery was just a way to battle his symptoms, not the disease.  Working in drug discovery, I know how difficult, expensive, and time consuming finding a cure can be.  In 2011 I saw that Team Fox had a Chicago Marathon team and I knew that would be a great place to start.  I did run (and finish!) the 2012 Chicago Marathon with Team Fox but even better was finding that Team Fox had founded the Team Fox Professionals of Chicago.  I signed up immediately and found a wonderful group of people who are so committed to the same cause as me.  This group is inspirational to work with and extremely dedicated to this cause.

I am so proud to be the chair of this group and hope to have you join us on Friday, June 6 for our 3rd Annual gala Party Like a Fox at Mercedes-Benz of Chicago located at 1520 W. North Avenue in Chicago.

Party Like a Fox has raised over $100,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which in turn uses these funds to raise awareness and fund research to battle Parkinson’s Disease.  We are especially excited and grateful to the anonymous donor who is covering Team Fox’s operating expenses that allows all funds raised at our events to go 100% towards Parkinson’s research!  At Party Like a Fox you will nosh on some of Chicago’s finest bites from ten fantastic restaurants like The Purple Pig and Sunda and imbibe specially prepared cocktails by top mixologists from the Violet Hour and others while jamming away to the sounds of form2dj’s. We also have a silent auction and encourage you to bid on our fabulous items because every penny raised goes towards Parkinson’s research via The Michael J. Fox Foundation.  Simply knowing that we can make a difference, impact Chicago, and aid in the mission to help find a cure for this disease is why we are partying like foxes throughout the year producing various fundraising events from Find Your Fox this past February to Party Like a Fox this Friday.  You can learn more about our group, our events, and buy tickets for Party Like a Fox at http://www.partylikeafox.org/

We’re committed to find a cure together.  To bring back the jokes and smiles of all our friends and family members that are battling Parkinson’s.

Sam Bettis
Chair, Team Fox Professionals of Chicago