Honorees receiving the Lou Gehrig Sports Award included Tennis Champion Pam Shriver and New York Yankees First Baseman Mark Teixeira. The Jacob K. Javits Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to ALS advocate Madelon Rand. ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap served as the Master of Ceremonies

Bob Costas joined Kim and Trason Murray in presenting the award to Teixeira. The Murray family shares a very special connection to Mark, made during the New York Yankees’ 2009 HOPE Week. The Yankees honored George Murray, a 38-year-old veteran of the Army’s 82nd Airborne who no longer had use of his arms or legs due to ALS, fulfilling his dream of going to a Yankees game with his then 4-year old son Trason and wife Kim. The Yankees invited the Murrays to the Stadium on July 22, 2009, for batting practice and the game, then surprised to the couple on their anniversary with a suite of 30 friends and family from home as well as Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, and several other Yankees players. Following the game, the Murrays received a private tour of Yankee Stadium with Teixeira and the Yankees players. Sadly, George succumbed to the disease a couple of weeks after his stadium visit.

The Jacob K. Javits Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to ALS advocate Madelon Rand. Madelon and her husband Lawrence Rand have dedicated their lives to finding a cure for the fatal affliction. Along with her sister Rochelle, they founded the National ALS Foundation (NALS) in New York City and worked tirelessly to advance ALS research and patient care. In 1985, NALS merged with several prominent ALS advocacy groups to become The ALS Association, the only national association dedicated to discovering the cause and cure of ALS. In 2002, Rochelle died of ALS at age 62. This past December, Madelon herself was diagnosed with ALS. Larry has co-chaired the Lou Gehrig Sports Awards Benefit since its inception and received the Javits Award in 1997.

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) – also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease - is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost, leading to progressive paralysis. The approximately 30,000 people in the United States annually fighting ALS survive two to five years from the time of diagnosis. As one of The ALS Association's leading chapters, the Greater New York Chapter covers Long Island, New York City, Westchester & Rockland Counties and Northern and Central New Jersey and plays a major role in promoting the mission to lead the fight to cure and treat ALS. The ALS Association is the only national not-for-profit voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS.  ALSA is a member of the National Health Council.