Jan Mattison - **HAS LEFT**

Said the following about Neil Wightman:

“Several years ago Neil's Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and since then he has tried to do as much as he can to help raise money for research into this disease, which at the moment has no known cure.

This year Neil's challenge has taken over his life and at the start of the year, decided to carry out at least one Obstacle Course Race a month, every month, throughout the year! This meant he signed up to do 9 Tough Mudder's, 2 Tartan Warriors, 2 MacTuff's, a Badass Mucker and a Winter Wolf run , as well as several walking and running events thrown in for good measure, one of which will be the Glencoe Challenge, a 26 mile walk through the Scottish mountains which he is doing with his wife, Clair. His target of £1000 has already been smashed, and the awareness he has raised for our charity via social media, local press, the Metro and RailStaff, is phenomenal and makes such a huge difference to our work. He is wearing a kilt and a Parkinson's UK t shirt at all of his events, and this alone makes him instantly recognisable.

As a Regional Fundraiser, I regularly meet inspiring people, but Neil's contribution has been truly outstanding. He has shown initiative with his challenge and great collaboration with myself and our Media Officer, to really maximise the impact his efforts are making.

His current fundraising total of over £1700 could alone fund 10 days of clinical research, or 17 days provision of a local advisor to help people newly diagnosed with Parkinson's. Neil is consistently making a real difference to our work in Scotland.

To work alongside such a dedicated and committed individual, who is not afraid to go above and beyond to support Parkinson's UK, is a delight, and I know that his challenge has inspired so many others to support our work.

I would highly commend Neil for an award - and feel that he is a true role model for charitable work.“