Alzheimer’s Walk leader to serve as planning chair for Oct. 16 event
Bob Panzer, 81, of Fairfield, a retired Solano County public employee, formerly served as ambassador for Alzheimer's Impact Movement
Local Alzheimer’s advocate Bob Panzer is serving as the planning committee volunteer chairman for the 2021 Solano County Walk to End Alzheimer’s, it has been announced.
Panzer, 81, has participated in all eight walks in the county, serving previously as the sponsorship chair and as an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM). He is heading up the organization of this year’s event, scheduled for Oct. 16 at Harbor Plaza in Suisun City, Matt Miller, the marketing and outreach chair of the local walk, said in a press release.
The walk is planning to be live and will observe Solano County COVID-19 safety protocols at the time of the event. Participants will also be able to walk virtually. Teams are forming now and funds are being raised at act.alz.org/ solano2021.
Panzer noted how he came to assume the planning chair job.
“It was Carolyn Eisen’s first year as a staff partner for our walk last year, and she had to do the work without an event chair,” he said of taking on the extra responsibility. “I thought I could help share some of the work for the planning committee this year.”
Panzer is retired after a 17-year career with Solano County Child Welfare Services and 13 more years as a deputy probation officer. He lived for many years in Vacaville with his wife Diana before moving to Fairfield in recent years. The Panzers have a son, Jon, and a daughter, Liz, and two grandchildren, Michael and Ryan.
Panzer continues to participate in the Solano County Walk “to help raise awareness of this public health crises that touches so many lives,” he said.
He is so passionate about the event that when a vacation in 2019 took him away from the live event in Suisun City, he walked the streets of Barcelona, Spain, in his purple committee shirt, Miller added.
The Walk will again feature 1- and 3-mile walks along the harbor and out into the wetlands, adjacent to Highway 12 East. There will be many pre-walk festivities, information centers, and a promise garden with colored flowers to support those who have Alzheimer’s, those who care for someone with Alzheimer’s, those who support the Alzheimer’s Association, and for those who have died from the disease.
More than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s. Cases have increased 16 percent since the pandemic began. And there are 11 million Americans who are serving as unpaid caregivers for their loved ones, noted Miller.