Erie Walk to End Alzheimer’s Executive Leadership Team (front row, from left): Will Bloomstine, Insurance Management Co.; Stacey Santos, RE/MAX; Melanie Titzel; Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine; Amber Beason, Alzheimer’s Association; Kyle Strayer, Erie Strayer; Sara Giammarise, Alzheimer’s Association; Paige Boesch, Plyler Entry Systems; and Bridget Merriman, ERIEBANK. Back row, from left: Eric Nicastro, Erie Insurance; Shari Robinson, Forte Marketing; Robb Frederick, Penn State Behrend; Drew Whiting, Erie Downtown Development Corporation; Greg Coleman, Erie SeaWolves; and Rob Frank, R. Frank Media. Not pictured: Rob Webster, Taco Bell, and Matthew Bresee, ActionCOACH Erie.
It takes maybe 40 minutes to complete the Erie Walk to End Alzheimer’s, a flat, two-mile out-and-back journey from Perry Square to Gridley Park. It takes nearly a year to coordinate the event, secure corporate sponsorships, and bring together the teams that make it all possible.
The Erie Walk to End Alzheimer’s — scheduled for Saturday, September 20 — is set to raise $200,000 this year. These funds support families that are facing Alzheimer’s, a progressive neurological disorder that affects more than 7 million Americans, including one in three seniors. It also drives research that can improve the understanding of the disease, impact risk reduction, diagnosis and treatment — such as two new treatments, and a blood biomarker test for early detection that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In Erie, the volunteer executive committee sets the bar high for what successful volunteer engagement looks like.
This volunteer group includes business owners and representatives across multiple industries, and has shaped the fundraising efforts for the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Our volunteer executive committee is the engine behind the Erie Walk’s success,” said Sara Giammarise, senior development director for the Alzheimer’s Association. “These leaders bring fresh ideas, strong networks and a shared commitment to the cause. Their dedication has more than doubled our local impact and set a new standard for what volunteer leadership can achieve.”
This year’s executive chair is Shari Robinson, co-owner of Forte Marketing and Mighty Fine Donuts. Her father, Douglas Robinson, died in 2023 after a 10-year fight against Alzheimer’s.
“This disease brings so many twists and turns,” Robinson said. “It just hits you, again and again and again, with these setbacks. You watch this person who means so much to you just slip away: They forget things, and then they forget you. Eventually, they stop talking. Then they stop walking. It keeps hitting you with something new before you have adjusted to the last change.”
As her father’s condition deteriorated, Robinson kept much of that struggle to herself, as do many of the 12 million Americans who provide unpaid care.
After a powerful meeting with Erie Walk Manager Amber Beason about the importance of volunteer leadership, Robinson agreed to sit in on a meeting of the executive committee for the Erie Walk. The volunteers she met there once again shifted her perspective on the disease.
“We went around the table, and everyone shared their story, and I immediately felt the depth of that connection,” Robinson said. “I didn’t know how much I needed to be with other people who understand this experience.”
That sense of shared understanding was echoed by Rob Frank, the owner of R. Frank Media, who spoke about his father, Bob Frank, who passed away in 2017. Frank chaired the Erie Walk in 2022 and 2023. He also serves on the Greater Pennsylvania Chapter Community Board of Excellence.
“People sometimes look at these Walks and think, ‘I have to donate $10,000 to be impactful,’” he said. “That absolutely is not the case. In a community like Erie, every little bit makes a difference.”
“We walk to acknowledge the challenges that all these people face,” Frank said. “Those little acknowledgements mean so much, both during the Walk and in the celebration afterward, when two people with yellow flowers — both of them caregivers — start a conversation. That’s the first step toward a network of support.”
For Paige Boesch, co-owner and vice president of Marketing at Plyler Entry Systems, that network of support is deeply personal. Paige volunteers and walks for her grandfather, Dean Aggers. He was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. Today, he lives at Manchester Commons in the Memory Unit.
Aggers recognizes her, but he often asks about the ring on her finger. He doesn’t remember her wedding, which was in 2021.
“I go to these committee meetings, and I see this amazing group of people with so many different strengths,” Boesch said. “Every one of them could say, ‘I’m too busy for this,’ but they find the time. They make themselves available.”
Boesch has built new connections within the group, expanding her own network in the process.
“I think it’s important for a business to give back,” she said. “Without this community, we wouldn’t have a business.”
For Robinson, this year’s walk chair, that bond is real.
“The passion that everyone brings to this is so inspiring,” she said. “You want to match that. You want to support it and help it grow. And you very quickly see that by honoring your person, you can do so much more.”
As the committee has expanded, its members have identified new ways to support the Erie Walk to End Alzheimer’s, but there are no plans to slow the momentum.
Editor’s note: If this article resonates with you, please reach out to volunteer with the executive committee in Erie, or in one of the 600 Walk events that take place across the country, 21 of them right here in Greater Pennsylvania.
Join the Erie Walk to End Alzheimer’s on September 20 and be part of something powerful.
Whether you walk in honor of a loved one, in support of caregivers, or as an advocate for change, your presence matters. Now is the time — register, donate, volunteer and walk to show that Erie stands united in the fight against this devastating disease.
If you or a loved one is impacted by dementia and you need support or have questions, the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline — 800-272-3900 — is available all day, every day.
To learn more about the ERIE Walk and other Walks to End Alzheimer’s, visit:
