Enthusiasm for Lab motivates Florida supporters
As the saying goes, “If you have something important to accomplish, find a busy person and get them involved in what you are doing.” That is just what happened when Dr. Leslie Norins and his wife, Rainey, invited Scott and Renee Relf to their Florida home in February 2007 for an event featuring scientists from The Jackson Laboratory.
Renee Relf remembers thinking, “I’d rather stick a pin in my eye than go listen to a couple of scientists!” But because of her husband’s fascination with science, and not wanting to disappoint her friends, she agreed to attend.
Relf sat quietly as the speakers explained in a surprisingly down-to-earth presentation that because we are living in a scientific revolution of historic proportions, Jackson Laboratory scientists are now beginning to unlock the secrets of life and genetic disease. Following what sounded to her more like a message of hope than a scientific presentation, the only question she asked that evening was, “How can I get involved?
In August, the Relfs flew to Bar Harbor for Jackson Laboratory “Discovery Days,” a series of public lectures and meetings with Lab staff.
“Through my newfound education at The Jackson Laboratory I recognized that, at the age of forty-seven, I was at the crossroads of vulnerability and responsibility,” says Relf, 
whose mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and pulmonary fibrosis. “As I watched disease taking its toll on my mother, just as it had done with my grandmother, I realized that I was vulnerable. And with the ugly face of heredity staring at me I also realized I was responsible—not only for myself, but for my children and grandchildren as well.”
Eager to share their message of hope with other families dealing with disease, the Relfs returned to their home in Naples, Fla., and met with their friends the Norins, whom they now credit for infecting them with “The Jackson Lab bug.” Together, the four of them launched the Naples Chapter of The Jackson Laboratory National Council, a growing network of volunteers who support the Laboratory.
Working with Laboratory staff, the Naples Chapter members planned a series of events for January and March 2008 designed to bring the Bar Harbor Discovery Days experience to Naples.
“Our goal is to empower The Jackson Laboratory to achieve its strategic objectives through our volunteer and philanthropic support,” says Relf. “We want people to think of The Naples Chapter of the National Council as a community of committed individuals whose goodwill and support helps The Jackson Laboratory to lead the search for tomorrow’s cures.”
For more information about upcoming events in Naples, or to become a member of The Naples Chapter of the National Council, contact Renee Relf at (239) 287-3964.
