Stars Come Out to Honor Hall of Fame Coach Joe Paterno at CMTA 'STAR' Dinner June 11 in State College

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 11, 2008, a galaxy of Penn State University football stars will gather at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College, PA to honor the illustrious career of legendary head football coach Joe Paterno. The event will include stars from the field of medicine and science who are working together to find a cure for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080428/NEM070)

Hosted by The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association (CMTA), the First Annual CMTA STAR Dinner is looking for other "stars" to honor Coach Paterno, while helping raise money for critical research in finding a treatment and cure for CMT, a little known, but the most commonly inherited neuropathy. Coach Paterno has lent his "star power" to the CMTA's efforts over the past several years.

Proceeds from the event benefit the CMTA's Strategy to Accelerate Research (STAR(TM)), an unprecedented collaboration of top researchers from around the world that has been created to develop new treatments for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder (CMT), and a cure within ten years.

CMT is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy estimated to affect one in every 2,500 people -- approximately 2.6 million people worldwide. CMT is a progressive disorder that causes the nerve cells leading to the body's extremities to slowly degenerate resulting in the loss of normal use of the feet/legs and hands/arms.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a VIP reception during which "Table Captains" and a guest have the opportunity to meet Coach Paterno. The contribution for Table Captain is $10,000, which includes 10 tickets to the dinner, 2 tickets to the VIP reception and a full page ad in the program.

Individual tickets to the STAR Dinner are $1,000, and contributions are tax deductible. The CMTA is also seeking people interested in donating sports memorabilia and other gifts for the auction.

For information on purchasing tickets or donating to the Silent Auction, call Robin Mitchell at 814-241-4560 or email [email protected].

"We are close to making scientific breakthroughs that will impact millions of people across the country," said Charles F. Hagins, Executive Director of the CMTA. "The CMTA STAR initiative is going to make that a reality."

SOURCE The Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association