SOMERVILLE – The New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) has announced that Marc Brummer is the recipient of the second annual NJCTS Advocate of the Year Award.
The Advocate of the Year Award is given to an individual whose contribution makes a difference to New Jersey’s Tourette Syndrome community. An NJCTS Advocate is a person whose dedication and actions improves awareness and helps break the stigma of TS by informing the public, medical professionals and educators about Tourette and by supporting kids and families living with the often devastating neurological disorder that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, affects 1 in 100 children and adults.
An NJCTS Advocate lives out the mission of NJCTS and advances public perception, understanding and acceptance of people with TS and associated disorders such as OCD, ADHD, anxiety and depression.
Brummer, a Livingston native and proprietor of the famous Hobby’s Deli in Newark, has been an integral part of the NJCTS community for more than a decade, giving the organization guidance on a wide array of platforms, offering support to countless TS individuals and families, and making scores of kids and their parents laugh and feel welcome as a centerpiece of the annual Family Retreat Weekend at YMCA Camp Bernie.
Brummer, along with his wife, Suzanne, also has been the focal point of NJCTS’ signature Patient-Centered Medical Education (PCME) program – giving a detailed, heartfelt account of what it is like to be a parent of a child (or in their case, two children) with Tourette Syndrome to dozens of doctors and health-care professionals across the state.
His dedication and compassion serve as an inspiration to people of all ages – a demonstration of what can be accomplished by calling upon friends, family, neighbors and the medical community to bring positive attention to this often misdiagnosed, misunderstood, inherited neurological disorder.
“It is with great pleasure that we present the second annual NJCTS Advocate of the Year Award to Marc Brummer,” NJCTS Executive Director Faith W. Rice said. “He has been instrumental in shaping our Patient Centered Medical Education program, sharing TS insights with New Jersey state and federal legislators, and being an advocate on behalf of the families we serve. We are very proud of his achievements.”
The inaugural NJCTS Advocate of the Year Award went to Mendham native Emily Carrara for her work with the New Jersey Walks for TS program. The first annual NJCTS Youth Advocate of the Year Award also has been announced, going to River Dell High School senior Emily Fleischman. More information is available by visiting www.njcts.org.
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New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders, Inc.
Collaborative partnerships for the TS community.