'MS is BS' fundraiser in Elkton generates $4K for the cause

ELKTON — Tracey Colbert was glum and withdrawn for quite a while after she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2015. But then, after thinking long and hard about her situation, she perked up and sparked into positive action.

“Yeah, I retreated and was depressed at first. But then I was like, ‘I have MS and I want to work to find a cure for it’,” said Colbert, a 36-year-old North East resident.

And that is precisely what Colbert did — and does. With the help of volunteers, Colbert plans and promotes a few major annual events to raise funds for MS research, including Walk MS Towson and Bike MS Easton. One of those big fundraisers — “MS is BS” at MD Beer Company in Elkton — was held on Saturday and the event raised $4,087 for the cause, according to Colbert, who commented, “This was our third year in a row we’ve held the fundraiser at the MD Beer Company, and it went very, very well.”

Under sunny skies, there was a festival atmosphere as scores of people walked around the parking lot outside the establishment and looked at the gleaming, car show automobiles on display, visited merchant tents on the lot, listened to a rock band called “Rebel Radio,” bought raffle and 50/50 tickets to support the cause and ate and drank a variety of food and beverages on sale, including MD Beer Company’s craft brews.

Another big draw: Jessica Alexander, who owns MD Beer Company with partner Scott McCardell, sat on the dunking booth platform as folks paid the admission to toss three softballs at the red target in hopes of plunging Alexander into the water tank below her. Alexander, who was celebrating her birthday on Saturday, spent part of the afternoon sopping wet because of the accurate throwing arms (and because of a some of her sneaky friends thumping the target with their hands).

Multiple sclerosis, which is commonly referred to as MS,” is an autoimmune disease that impacts the central nervous system, which consists of the brain, spine and optic nerve.

“There isn’t a cure yet, but there are treatments. The treatments don’t make it better, but they keep it from getting worse,” Colbert said. “A lot of people with MS come to these fundraisers and we meet each other and talk. We even exchange phone numbers. It’s really like a support system.”