Mckinney Courier-gazette > News
Executive Lockup raises $20K for MDA
Chris Beattie/Staff Photo - Lone Star 92.5-FM radio host Randy James, acting as judge, hands down a one-hour sentence to Tammy Turner on Thursday during the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Executive Lockup at Texas Roadhouse in McKinney. Business and community leaders are 'locked up' until they raise bail money -- donations for MDA, a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for MD and related diseases.
By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@starlocalnews.com
Having a big heart was a crime for a day in northern Collin County.
Dozens were arrested and held behind bars, their bails set near $1,500. Their jailhouse meal: a cheeseburger and fries.
Business and community leaders participated Thursday in a Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Executive Lockup. As long as they made "bail" -- MDA donations from friends, family and coworkers -- the caring criminals were set free.
"I walked in and was immediately pronounced guilty," joked Jill Willis, 429th District Court judge whose son is good friends with a boy with muscular dystrophy. "I don't think that was very fair."
Others joined Willis throughout the afternoon in booth "cells" at Texas Roadhouse in McKinney. Once ushered into the restaurant jailhouse, a judge -- gown, gavel and all -- sentenced them to some not-so-hard time.
Randy James of 92.5-FM radio judged the first docket. Like the book-ins' ensuing meal, his ruling veered far from real-life incarceration, but had its purpose.
"I'm now going to book you into the system for one hour of hard labor, so you can raise that bail and get bailed out of here," James told Tammy Turner, director of catering and concessions for Lovejoy ISD. "Good luck."
Dallas firefighters, who work closely with MDA for Fill the Boot, another national fundraising campaign, switched roles for a day just like Willis. Several volunteered their time to go around town and arrest the executives, whom MDA recruited in recent weeks.
Though not in siren-studded cruisers, the firefighters got a small taste of the life of their public safety counterparts.
"It's been pretty easy, and kind of humorous, so it's fun," said Randy Myers, a Dallas firefighter of 23 years. "I think it's a great organization and a great way to raise money."
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of inherited disorders that involve muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue, both of which worsen over time. The MDA is a nonprofit health agency that funds worldwide medical research in hopes of finding cures for MD, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and related diseases, and provides health care and support services, advocacy and education
With its national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., MDA has more than 200 offices around the country, and it sponsors as many hospital-affiliated clinics, including those at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center of Dallas.
The MDA holds Executive Lockups in cities around the nation, including several in DFW. It held one in Lewisville in March, and its biggest local lockup will happen in August in Dallas.
Arrestees gather money from donors both pre-lockup and during their jail stay. Varying donation amounts pay for different MDA services: $30 buys a flu shot for a family, $150 pays for a support group session, and $800 sends a kid with MD to summer camp.
"I think it's a fun idea to have a jail-themed event," said Jacquelin Way, executive director of MDA's Dallas North office. "A lot of people like rallying behind the idea of being locked up for a good cause, so we have a lot of fun with it."
Another early book-in was McKinney Boyd High School Principal Rick McDaniel, who's turned himself in to MDA several times over the years. He shared a booth cell with Turner, a first-timer.
"They all have big hearts, and we want to help out when we can," McDaniel said of MDA. "This is just another opportunity to reach out and help those who have greater needs than we do."
Even "victims" of the culprits' crime showed up at the restaurant jailhouse, eager to meet some of their local supporters. McKinney residents Fiona Foster and her son Everett shared a booth with Allen residents Kelly Kulti and her son Daniel.
Everett, 11, and Daniel, 9, have MD and will go to the weeklong MD-tailored camp this summer, thanks to Lockup donations. It will be Everett's second time at camp, but the first for Daniel, who was diagnosed with MD just a little over a year ago.
"It takes a while to get adjusted when you get this kind of news because it's so life-changing," Kulti said. "When you have a child with such needs as ours, it's very difficult to find things for them to do because of their health issues, so to be able to go to a camp actually designed for them is great."
Plenty more kids could be joining Everett and Daniel, too. Including online donations, this week's Executive Lockup raised nearly $20,000 for MDA.
Maybe crime does pay, after all.
"I just can't believe the support that a lot of people locally give to MDA," Kulti said. "We appreciate it greatly."
For more information about MDA, go to www.mda.org.
Dozens were arrested and held behind bars, their bails set near $1,500. Their jailhouse meal: a cheeseburger and fries.
Business and community leaders participated Thursday in a Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Executive Lockup. As long as they made "bail" -- MDA donations from friends, family and coworkers -- the caring criminals were set free.
"I walked in and was immediately pronounced guilty," joked Jill Willis, 429th District Court judge whose son is good friends with a boy with muscular dystrophy. "I don't think that was very fair."
Others joined Willis throughout the afternoon in booth "cells" at Texas Roadhouse in McKinney. Once ushered into the restaurant jailhouse, a judge -- gown, gavel and all -- sentenced them to some not-so-hard time.
Randy James of 92.5-FM radio judged the first docket. Like the book-ins' ensuing meal, his ruling veered far from real-life incarceration, but had its purpose.
"I'm now going to book you into the system for one hour of hard labor, so you can raise that bail and get bailed out of here," James told Tammy Turner, director of catering and concessions for Lovejoy ISD. "Good luck."
Dallas firefighters, who work closely with MDA for Fill the Boot, another national fundraising campaign, switched roles for a day just like Willis. Several volunteered their time to go around town and arrest the executives, whom MDA recruited in recent weeks.
Though not in siren-studded cruisers, the firefighters got a small taste of the life of their public safety counterparts.
"It's been pretty easy, and kind of humorous, so it's fun," said Randy Myers, a Dallas firefighter of 23 years. "I think it's a great organization and a great way to raise money."
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of inherited disorders that involve muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue, both of which worsen over time. The MDA is a nonprofit health agency that funds worldwide medical research in hopes of finding cures for MD, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and related diseases, and provides health care and support services, advocacy and education
With its national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., MDA has more than 200 offices around the country, and it sponsors as many hospital-affiliated clinics, including those at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center of Dallas.
The MDA holds Executive Lockups in cities around the nation, including several in DFW. It held one in Lewisville in March, and its biggest local lockup will happen in August in Dallas.
Arrestees gather money from donors both pre-lockup and during their jail stay. Varying donation amounts pay for different MDA services: $30 buys a flu shot for a family, $150 pays for a support group session, and $800 sends a kid with MD to summer camp.
"I think it's a fun idea to have a jail-themed event," said Jacquelin Way, executive director of MDA's Dallas North office. "A lot of people like rallying behind the idea of being locked up for a good cause, so we have a lot of fun with it."
Another early book-in was McKinney Boyd High School Principal Rick McDaniel, who's turned himself in to MDA several times over the years. He shared a booth cell with Turner, a first-timer.
"They all have big hearts, and we want to help out when we can," McDaniel said of MDA. "This is just another opportunity to reach out and help those who have greater needs than we do."
Even "victims" of the culprits' crime showed up at the restaurant jailhouse, eager to meet some of their local supporters. McKinney residents Fiona Foster and her son Everett shared a booth with Allen residents Kelly Kulti and her son Daniel.
Everett, 11, and Daniel, 9, have MD and will go to the weeklong MD-tailored camp this summer, thanks to Lockup donations. It will be Everett's second time at camp, but the first for Daniel, who was diagnosed with MD just a little over a year ago.
"It takes a while to get adjusted when you get this kind of news because it's so life-changing," Kulti said. "When you have a child with such needs as ours, it's very difficult to find things for them to do because of their health issues, so to be able to go to a camp actually designed for them is great."
Plenty more kids could be joining Everett and Daniel, too. Including online donations, this week's Executive Lockup raised nearly $20,000 for MDA.
Maybe crime does pay, after all.
"I just can't believe the support that a lot of people locally give to MDA," Kulti said. "We appreciate it greatly."
For more information about MDA, go to www.mda.org.
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