MS Focus Activities Giving Back: Country Music for a Cause Q:What inspiredyou to help peoplewith MS? A: When I got diagnosed, one of my doctors suggested to me not to tell others, because a lot of people don’t know what it is. He said they may not know how to act around me or may be afraid of “catching” MS. That’s when I thought, “Oh, no! I’m going to make sure everyone knowswhat MS is in ourcommunity.” Even I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen to me when I was diagnosed, so I wanted to spread awareness for everyone. Q: What inspired you to hold an event? A: I like doing events. I’ve done car shows and concerts. I love organizing plays at church. I call myself a “silent partner” because I organize the event, but I seldom get up in front of a crowd. Q: Why did you choose this type of event? A: I like concerts. I like music and I like to bring in people. Our community is small and I like to have someone for everyone to come out and enjoy. My first concert was with Nolan Neal from The Voice. It was great! I like to have something different for the community. Q: What elements of the event were the most challenging? A: It was challenging contacting some of the radio stations to advertise it. I had to write emails and make phone calls. I contacted more than a dozen different organizations. Sometimes it was discouraging, but I kept going. TV stations were harder, but I got newspapers and radio stations to promote it. 34 msfocusmagazine.org Twyla Cochran is an MS Focus Outreach Volunteer. She organized the Help MS Kick the Bucket concert in Copperhill, Tenn. Despite her shyness, Twyla reached out to sponsors, newspapers, and radio stations to promote the event. She also reached out to country music star Whey Jennings, who graciously donated his time. His band headlined the show. Twyla’s work paid off and together they raised almost $1,500 in one night. To put that into perspective, that could mean 90 hours of homecare for a person with MS, or ten people receiving cooling vests. Twyla’s been putting on concerts for people with MS since she was diagnosed in 2010. We asked her more about what motivates her and how she accomplishes her goals.