By Steve Mallory

Happy New Year! Hopefully, 2007 will be better for everybody! One of the things that I do every January is to recap the organization accomplishments for the year. Lots of things happened during 2006.

We started out the year by upgrading the message board. The message board has been modified several times during the year to make it more attractive to the members. We added several dropdown menus to give the board a cleaner look and hide the dozen or so links. If you visit the message board you only need to click on one of four dropdown menus and then click on one of the links that dropdown. Make sure you click on the menu called Members Area.

We added a help desk so that members and visitors can report a problem that they have and a staff member can assist them. We added a FAQ section where frequently asked questions are shown and the answers are given. Both of these modifications are available both to members and visitors.

We also tried a shoutbox on the board but decided to disable it because it caused excessive download time for members with slower modems. The shoutbox is like an instant messenger built into the message board. Even though we did not keep this modification I still think it deserves the recognition.

We added a modification for a special link to profile photographs. If a member added their picture to their profile it is automatically shown in this section.

The last modification to the message board is that skin selector was added. We have over a dozen seasonal and holiday skins for you to choose from now. My current skin is set to the Winter theme. It’s bright and snowy with several snowman and even snow that is actually falling! Go to the bottom of the screen to make a selection.

The on-line store was opened, last year. We have several of our very own custom made products. They all symbolize stroke awareness. We have rubber bracelets, several types of t-shirts and hats. You can visit our on-line store at http://www.strokenetstore.net/
 

Next, let‘s focus on changes made to the homepage. We now have a link to Google Translation. I know that we have lots of International members so if you are more comfortable reading in your native language you only need to click on the translation link and enter the address for any of the Internet addresses, like for the message board.

One thing that I am extremely proud of is that we have our very own logo, now. The graphic represents most of our members; someone sitting in their wheelchair working in front of a computer.
 

In 2006, our organization became familiar with stem cell therapy. I can honestly say that at this time, last year, I knew virtually little to nothing about stem cells. The company, Stem Cell Therapy International, SCTI, became a good friend of the Stroke Network and taught us all about stem cell therapy. Check out http://www.strokechat.net/transcript052406.htm in order to read the transcript from the guest speaker engagement that explains the mystery behind stem cells. I cannot thank Peter Sidorenko, from SCTI, enough for all of the help and education that he has provided our members.

You should read the press release at

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=6511 and read about where we currently are. Two of our members traveled abroad to receive stem cell therapy. Rich James and Keith Mitchell learned about stem cell therapy and are on their way to an improved quality of life. Mark my words; stem cell therapy is going to be the way of the future for stroke recovery!

You can read the blog for Rich James receives stem cell therapy
blog at

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=264&

The blog about Keith Mitchell is at

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=305&

Make sure to read the blogs and if you have a question or comment, you can post them immediately. It is very exciting to have two of our very own resources, right here, to tell us all about their personal experiences with receiving new stem cells and regenerating their bodies.

As usual, we had our annual golf tournament fundraiser, this Summer. Tom and Jean Walter, Geri Mitchell and my mom did another spectacular job of pulling things together for, yet again, of raising enough funds to keep our organization in business for several more years. Our non-profit could not survive without the dedication and hard work that these people put into the fundraisers every year. Check out http://www.strokenetwork.net/fundraiser/maryland/2006/ and see photos of the professional the golf tournament!

Last year; I tried something new. I took the opportunity to do something out in my community. I found out that the county was sponsoring a Disability Resource Fair. Over 100 tables were setup for anything from information about homeless shelters to assistive technology that the military volunteers. The Stroke Network was well represented. Check out http://www.strokeboard.net/
index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=si&img=1127

All in all, 2006 was a good and productive year! Thank goodness for digital pictures so there is evidence! J


 

Steve is CEO and Founder of The Stroke Network