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Fundraising Heart Walk Will Be Held Saturday

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: November 12, 2008

HUDSON - A shiver of dread went down Ralph Uzzi's spine when the phone rang late one night.

The caller informed him that Uzzi's best friend had died without warning from a heart attack.

"It always touches you, that call in the night," Uzzi vividly recalled about that moment 8 years ago.

Uzzi, the administrative director of laboratory and communication services at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, is sorry he couldn't help his friend.

But as one of the biggest fundraisers for American Heart Association, Uzzi hopes to help others before it is too late.

He has raised nearly $800 in pledges so far for the 2008 Nature Coast Start! Heart Walk this Saturday, Nov. 15, and he encourages others to participate.

Activities will begin at 8 a.m. at the Rotary Pavilion at the Concourse, 15325 Alric Pottberg Road, along S.R. 52 less than a mile west of the Suncoast Parkway.

About 1,000 participants are expected for the 3-mile walk, which will start at 9 a.m., a Heart Association spokeswoman, Kate Sawa, said. Funds will help save lives from this country's No. 1 and No. 3 killers, heart disease and stroke.

A 1-mile course is also available. Fundraisers can register to walk with their company or as an individual. Corporate sponsors include Community Hospital of New Port Richey and Regional Medical Center, in Hudson, along with local radio stations.

Bake sales, garage sales and wine baskets are just a few ways Uzzi has helped raise money for the Heart Walk.

AHA has set up solicitations via the Internet, Uzzi explained, which helped him raise about $600 toward his total so far.

It's a bit tougher to raise donations this year, he noted. He collected about $1,000 last year before the economy really turned sour. But even if people can only afford to give $5 this year instead of $25, every bit counts, Uzzi remarked.

For more information or to register, call the heart association at 727-563-8107 or go online to www.americanheart.org/naturecoastwalk>.

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