Vote NOW for the 2012 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion

Four finalists have been named for the 2012 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award.  And now is your chance to vote for the winner!  They include:  Nebraska's Rex Burkhead, North Carolina State's Wayne Crawford,  UCLA's Luke Gane and Florida's David Lerner. The honor is presented annually to recognize a leader in the world of college football who has realized his or her potential to make a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community.  More than 30 million Americans are affected by rare diseases.

The 4th annual award winner will be determined by an online vote ending February 26th.  Since February 1st, more than 53,000 votes have been counted. The Champion will be announced at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, February 29th.   Presentation of the sculpture to the winner will be determined at a later date.  Previous winners include American Football Coaches Association Executive Director, Grant Teaff (2009); Dickinson College Quarterback, Ian Mitchell (2010); Princeton Running Back Jordan Culbreath (2011).

To read each finalist’s personal story and connection to the rare disease community as well as to cast your vote for this year’s Champion, log onto: www.upliftingathletes.org/vote  Only one vote per email address.