The MSfits in Tena Shoes

Our team founder and captain, Mindi Tena, was diagnosed with MS in 1989. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease which affects the neurological system. It is a very frustrating disease because there is no known cause and no cure (yet) but thanks to research there have been many advances toward that end. Mindi realized that she could help accomplish this by fundraising with Walk MS, so she started a team in 1995 and in 2002 took an 8-year hiatus while focusing on raising her youngest daughter. In 2010, the team was revived and that’s when Mindi met Laura Higdon. Laura’s mother had been diagnosed a few years before Mindi. These two misfits and self-proclaimed sisters from another mister were committed to doing what they could to fund a cure.

Over the years there have been dozens of team members, including a handful of women who live with the disease: Jennifer, Patricia and Shea. Patricia is the widow of beloved sports commentator John “The Professor” Clayton. In the wake of John’s unexpected death a month before the walk in 2022, donations flooded in to honor his memory. These donations comprised the vast majority of the $105,000+ raised by the MSfits in Tena Shoes, propelling our team to the #1 spot in Seattle last year.

 

Since its inception, our team has raised over $250,000 and will continue our efforts every year until a cure is found. Laura’s mother, Linda Perdue, passed away in 2014. Linda never gave up hope that a cure would be discovered. Mindi, Patricia, Jennifer, and Shea are equally hopeful and optimistic that a cure will be found and every person on our team is asking our friends, families and acquaintances to help us make that a reality in our collective lifetime.