The Chris Draft Family Foundation’s Asthma Team™  Supported St. Louis Asthma Agencies on March 7

Rams linebacker Chris Draft brought the Missouri Asthma Team™ together for a special day of events to support two St. Louis agencies, the American Lung Association and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of St. Louis.  Saturday’s events marked the first coordinated effort of the Missouri Asthma Team™ to support existing agencies united in an attempt to bring awareness to the newly designated Asthma Capital for 2009.

Draft, who served as a Celebrity Climber for the second year in a row at the American Lung Association’s Master the Met competitive stairclimb event, was joined by another  Celebrity Climber, Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, co-sponsor of the Winning with Asthma Campaign and member of the Missouri Asthma Team™.  As the lead-off climbers, Draft and Kinder raced up the 42 floor Metropolitan Square building, the tallest building in St. Louis.  Asthma Team™ members who attended the event included Emily Pike who serves as the AAFA Programs Director, Mario Castro from the Asthma Consortium of St. Louis, Peggy Gaddy from the Missouri Department of Health, and Terry Plain from the Missouri Foundation for Health. 

In 2009, St. Louis jumped from the 9th worst city for asthma sufferers to the #1 city in the span of 1 year.  The Missouri Asthma Team™ will work diligently to support any and all existing agencies and individuals to empower them to better their surroundings and ranking to ensure a better quality of life for children and families in St. Louis. According to Draft, "As a team, we will not accept where we are.  We will work together as the Missouri Asthma Team™ to tackle asthma and lung disease across the state of Missouri." The Asthma Team™ is a nationwide coalition of concerned individuals and agencies who seek to promote awareness and education. 

Following the morning’s stairclimb,  Draft and members of the Asthma Team™ attended  AAFA’s  Orchid Ball, a premiere black-tie event founded in 1991.  The Orchid Ball, held in March each year,  traditionally begins with cocktails and a silent auction, followed by a sit-down dinner, live auction and entertainment. The orchid is the symbol of the ball because it is one of the flowers to which no one is allergic.   The 2009 Orchid Ball, presented by Anheuser-Busch Companies, was held at the St. Louis Hilton at the Ballpark. Event chairs, Dave and Anne Birkenmeier and honorary chair, Mayor Francis Slay, hosted the fabulous night.