Augie Nieto is the founder and retired chief executive of Life Fitness. In March 2005, Augie was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...

, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He is noted for fighting against ALS by creating "Augie's Quest", which he started by teaming with the Muscular Dystrophy Association

Muscular Dystrophy Association

The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...

 after his diagnosis. "Augie's Quest" has raised over $15 million dollars in funds for research into the disease.

Battle with ALS

In March 2005, Augie was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Despite the limitations of the disease, Augie continues to lead an active life. Drawing strength from his family, friends and a flood of supportive e-mails, Augie maintains a positive attitude. After diagnosis, he endured an initial bout of despair. He quickly rebounded though and teamed with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and created "Augie's Quest" with the sole purpose of finding a cure for ALS. The team he assembled to fight the disease and find a cure hold to one mission: Identify the genetic basis of the disease in order to seek a treatment.

In addition to numerous honors, Nieto was given the President's Award by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in 2008. Then-NAHJ President Rafael Olmeda cited Nieto as someone who, without fanfare, put a "Latino face on an American story."

In 2009, John Ondrasik, Five for Fighting

Five for Fighting

Five for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman " , "100 Years" , and "The Riddle" .-Early years:...

, wrote a song in Nieto's honor to help raise funds for Augie's Quest. As well, Augie was appointed to the board of directors of DynaVox

DynaVox

DynaVox Mayer-Johnson is a US-based developer, manufacturer and distributor of Speech Generating Devices headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. The company was formed in 1983 and has since become the leading provider of speech communication devices and symbol-adapted special education software used to...

.

External links

• Augie Nieto, Wall Street Journal article on life with additional information about ALS
• Augie's Quest