Bourbon for a cause: Jacksonville woman who has MS builds fundraiser in search of a cure

In December 2020, Teresa Eichner of Jacksonville came up with a unique fundraising idea for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

A bourbon and whiskey tasting and auction.

Eichner, who was diagnosed with MS in 2016, hoped to raise about $5,000. But her prediction was way off.

The first Jax Bourbon Social in 2021 raised $23,520. This year's July 30 event more than doubled the proceeds, raising $60,769. Both were sell-outs before they were even publicized.

Total in two years: $84,289.

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"We are still incredibly humbled and proud of what we have been able to accomplish in the 20 months since we first discussed it," Eichner said. "We literally started with nothing more than an idea and I don't think any of us realized we would be able to raise nearly $100K in that amount of time."

She and her planning team are already looking for a larger venue for 2023.

Many patients suffer for years waiting for diagnosis

Nearly 1 million people in the United States live with MS, which is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord. There is currently no cure.

"The immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body," according to the Mayo Clinic. "Eventually the disease can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerves.

"Signs and symptoms of MS vary widely and depend on the amount of nerve damage and which nerves are affected. Some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or at all, while others may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms," according to Mayo.

Eichner was 42 when she experienced her first symptom. During ta workout class, her left eye was blurry, as if she "had not rubbed all the sleep out of it," she said.

A trip to the eye doctor revealed she had lost all vision in that eye, but the doctor could see nothing wrong with the eyeball. She headed to the hospital.

"Over the next three days, I was tested for all sorts of illnesses" and underwent 12  MRIs, or magnetic resonance imaging, and a spinal tap," she said.

She was diagnosed only a few days after the blurry eye sent her to the hospital.

Eicher said she was "quite familiar" with MS because a former employer was a local board member and provided free public relations for the organization. But no one in Eichner's family had MS or knew anyone else who had the disease.

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So her husband and two of their three daughters attended a "newly diagnosed" meeting hosted by the MS Society to learn more. Their oldest daughter, who was in college in South Florida, learned from her parents and siblings.

"I soon learned that I was lucky because I got diagnosed in four days," Eichner said.  "I've met hundreds of people that didn't get a diagnosis for years and suffer from the damage MS caused while they were waiting,"

About 80 percent of her vision returned before she left the hospital. Since then, Eichner has had good days and bad days.

"I have not had any relapses although I have had long battles with fatigue, trigeminal neuralgia [a chronic pain condition] and an intolerance to heat," she said. "The effects vary from day to day. Some days I'm in bed as soon as I get home from work. Overall, I'm not nearly as active as I used to be. I don't play softball anymore since my eyesight isn't perfect and I played in the catcher position."

Because of the heat intolerance, she said, "I have invested in lots of fans and am known to show up with one wherever I go."

Every fundraising idea 'is a good idea'

Since her diagnosis, Eichner has used her marketing and public and government relations experience leading MS Walk teams, serving on the North Florida area board and lobbying in Florida and Washington, D.C., among other things. She received the North Florida Chapter Volunteer of the Year Award.

But in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hampered fundraising for the 2021 MS Walk, which was to be virtual. So Eichner asked a friend who was a bourbon fan — Andy Goethe, a police officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office — about hosting a tasting.

Jax Bourbon Social is one of many Do It Yourself fundraisers encouraged by the MS Society and many other nonprofits, according to Heidi Katz, president of the North Florida chapter.

Such events are an "opportunity for anyone to provide positive change in a personal way," Katz said. "Anyone can bring their fundraising vision to life and make an impact on the lives of those living with MS. DIY events have been going on for as long as fundraising has been around. We have seen everything from garage sales to golf tournaments to sports competitions to streaming events … When it comes to DIY fundraising, every idea is a good idea."

Eichner's idea came to her after reading a Katz post about a society event in Kentucky that had a bourbon component, in which guests play a game and the prize is a bottle of bourbon. Friend and bourbon fan Goethe and two other supporters — Eichner's now son-in-law, bourbon drinker Cody Mitchko, and his friend, Jordan Muhlbauer, who runs the Florida Truck Meet — joined the planning team.

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"Nobody else was doing a bourbon and whiskey tasting-themed event, so I thought it would be something people would attend," she said. Her fellow team members "would be able to carry the bourbon theme while I had event experience with all the behind-the-scenes pieces," she said.

Former employers and colleagues donated a website and graphic design and bought sponsorships, and raffle items were donated from local bourbon groups, friends, relatives and MS Society board members.

The proceeds from the two events support the work of the MS Society, including funding research, services and advocacy "to make sure that those living with MS live their best possible lives," Katz said.

"I have the honor of working with volunteers all the time and I am grateful for all of the support that we get," she said. "Volunteers who take it a step further and create and run their own events never cease to amaze me."

She called Eichner the ultimate MS warrior.

"She is a true force and she inspires me every day," Katz said. "The personal stories of those that live with MS are what fuel us. We call these stories our 'Mission Moments'. … Each story is deeply personal, each MS journey is different and those that share are extremely brave."

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Eichner has trouble putting into words what her MS fundraising efforts mean to her.

"If there were one word, it would be indescribable," she said. "Indescribable that the dollar we raise in Jacksonville … might be the dollar which finds a cure for more than 1 million people. My hope is that in my lifetime, we find that cure and no one will ever have to hear, 'You have MS and there is no cure.'"

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY

To donate or volunteer or get information or support from the society, call toll-free (800) 344-4867 or go to nationalmssociety.org. The North Florida chapter is at 8940 Western Way, Suite 16, Jacksonville 32256 and also can be reached via the toll-free number or at nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/FLN.

JAX BOURBON SOCIAL

For more information go to jaxbourbonsocial.com or bit.ly/3A73NDY.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville woman who has multiple sclerosis succeeds with fundraiser