Dad's Note: We want to thank those of you who have supported us from the beginning in fighting this disease. Last year's walk was a tremendous success. The St. Joseph Great Strides Walk raised nearly $17,000 to fight cystic fibrosis. Thanks to you, Hannah's Hikers generated $12,632 of that total, making us the largest fund-raising team in the entire western half of Michigan for the second straight year! The eight year total for the St. Joseph Great Strides Walk is over $167,000.

Although she had a cystic fibrosis related stay in the hospital earlier this year, Hannah is doing well and has remained as busy as ever (cross-country, basketball, soccer, dance, band). It is thanks to you that we've had such success with our local walk. Vicki and I are once again chairing the St. Joseph event and have high hopes that the 2010 walk will be the best one yet. We have chosen "baseball" as the theme for this year's event and invite anyone in the area to sign up for our Hannah's Hikers team and join us for the walk.

About the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: The non-profit organization is one of the most efficient of its kind. It has received a four-star rating for sound fiscal management from Charity Navigator, the largest independent charity evaluator in the United States and is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. The Foundation's business model has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health and by publications such as Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek.

Below is some exciting news that illustrates what your dollars have accomplished with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation:

• A new inhaled antibiotic developed by Gilead Sciences, Inc. called Cayston® is now available for patients. Cayston® offers a much-needed antibiotic alternative for CF patients who battle recurrent lung infections and develop resistance to existing antibiotics.
• The CFF estimates that more than a dozen Phase 3 trials will be completed by 2013 — a huge success that drives supports continued optimism for finding a cure.

We want to leave you with two facts that illustrate both the importance of the work the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has done and how far we have to go:

• The median life expectancy for cystic fibrosis patients has been raised from under 5 in the 1950's to 37.4 today.
• There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis.

Thank you so much again for the financial and emotional support you've given our family in the years since finding out about Hannah's condition. We are blessed to have such a strong support group working with us to help defeat this disease.

Sincerely, Dave, Vicki, Hannah & Olivia Buck