South Dakota DCs Pull Together to Contribute to Research

Tom Wilson, DC, an alumnus of Northwestern College of Chiropractic (1979) who practices in Milbank, South Dakota, decided he'd undertake a fundraising campaign in his state to raise money for Northwestern's research efforts.

With a goal of raising $20,000, Dr. Wilson and Robin Lecy, DC, began the initial fundraising work by sending letters to several dozen DCs in South Dakota to ask for their support. The bulk of the money raised thus far ($14,000) has been through gifts from the "leadership stewards": Drs. Mark Bledsoe, Christine Brandner, Ron Bubel, Kathy and Fred Deutsch, David Eggers, Mike Koehn, Daniel Lecy, Robin Lecy, Paul Mitteness, Scott Munsterman, John Nelson, William Nelson, Wayne Ortman, Curtis Reiss, Clay Runyan, Douglas Sea, Leah and Paul Thielen, Tom Wilson, Jeff Wolff, and Mark Ziegler.

Each of the leadership stewards will personally contact four or five fellow DCs. All DCs in South Dakota will be contacted, according to Dr. Wilson. "I would say 90 percent of the people I personally contacted committed a substantial sum of money to our campaign," said Dr. Wilson. "I didn't twist any arms. All I did was explain the rationale. I think it was also helpful that it was a fellow doctor in private practice making the call."

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," asserted Dr. Wilson. "There are just 160 doctors of chiropractic in all of South Dakota. Imagine what could be raised in a more populous state?"

The money raised will be used to create an endowment to establish a Chair for Clinical Research in the Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies at Northwestern.

This South Dakota fundraising project will be the model for similar projects in North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Connecticut, according to James McDonald, MBA, vice president for Institutional Advancement at NWCC.

Effective March 1, 1994, the Federation of Straight Chiropractic Organizations (FSCO) has changed its name. The national trade association will now be known as the Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations.

Dr. Richard Plummer of South Carolina, FSCO vice chairman, said the change more accurately reflects the FSCO today: "We have undergone a change in membership and therefore a change in focus for the organization."

According to a FSCO new release, the organization was founded (1979) to provide a national focus for straight state chiropractic organizations, but because of the growth of individual membership, the FSCO now represents the needs of the individual straight chiropractor, as well as the state organizations.

Peter Cox, a fourth trimester student at Cleveland Chiropractic College, Kansas City, aspires to represent the U.S. Fencing Team in Atlanta in 1996. Towards that goal, Peter is training with Vladamir Nazlymov, a 10-time world champion and six-time Olympic medalist. "He (Coach Nazlymov) takes a complex idea and makes it simple," said Peter. "It's a joy to attend practice every day."

A four-time National Collegiate Athletic Assoc. (NCAA) All-American and 1989 NCAA sabre champion, Peter is considered a top U.S. sabre fencer. He ranked ninth among U.S. fencers in the selection for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team (the team consisted of the top five fencers), was a member of the U.S. team at the World University Games, and is an eight-time U.S. Olympic Festival medalist.

"I believe that being a chiropractic student makes it easier to participate in fencing," said Peter. "Chiropractic relates to the sport because it is relevant to how the body adapts to certain situations. I can use this knowledge to explain to others in the sport how they can avoid injuries and maintain safer practices."

Peter is working to increase community awareness of fencing and chiropractic. He's been featured on three TV programs, interviewed on radio, and been the subject of three newspaper articles.

For more information on Mr. Cox's Olympic endeavor, please call (913) 681-5221.

The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) recently put together a brochure summarizing published studies and official inquiries regarding the efficacy, appropriateness, and cost effectiveness of chiropractic. For more information on the "Studies on Chiropractic" brochure, call the NBCE at (303) 356-9100, or write to them at 901 54th Ave., Greeley, CO 80634.